


Who Needs Tattoos When You've Got A Pen?

by Pagesandparagraphs



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Alex is an artist sorta, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Basically when one writes on their skin, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jack plays at the street corner, Jalex - Freeform, Kinda, LGBT, M/M, Oh and Alex is a ginger, Smut, Soulmates, Why do I start so many projects, based on a prompt I read, because why the hell not, but all he's good at is patterns and band logos, but it's a loose interpretation, in like one chapter, it appears on their soulmate's skin, send help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-11-20 02:38:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11326935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pagesandparagraphs/pseuds/Pagesandparagraphs
Summary: (Based on a prompt) Whenever you draw or write on your skin, it shows up on your soulmate's skin.Jack watches in mild awe as whoever his soulmate is draws intricate patterns and band logos, silently loving this person's music taste.Alex, however, gets grocery lists and silently judges his soulmate for drawing penises when they're bored. Especially on the backs of the hands. You can't really look professional with dicks on your hands.(Aka no one asked for this but who cares)





	1. Art Wall

I drum my fingers on the table, sighing absently. I chew on the end of my pen, trying not to draw. I know my soulmate doesn't mind, they even comment how much they love my art. It's just that this is supposed to be important for me and I should be paying attention.

"Are you in?" I blink, realizing I missed the whole premise of the conversation. My agent rolls his eyes a bit.

"Do you want to design the album cover?" He asks. I nod slowly.

"I'd love to," I reply, smiling. "I must warn you though, I'm no good at drawing people. I can draw a lot of things, but people doesn't fall under that list."

They chuckle. "That's perfectly fine," They say. "As long as you design a good cover, it doesn't really matter."

After the conversation is done, my "agent", aka my friend Rian, smacks my upside the head. "What the hell was that all about?" He asks.

His sleeve rides up a bit and I notice all the writing on his arm. I raise an eyebrow. "Your soulmate looks busy," I comment. Rian pulls up his sleeve, cursing.

"He writes down random things, sometimes," He grumbles. "I think his friend dares him to write stuff."

I raise my eyebrows even more. "You know it's a he?" I ask. "I thought you said you're bisexual."

He nods. "I am."

"Then how can you be so sure it's a guy?" He laughs.

"That's because I fucking asked, moron." I look down, turning my pen in my fingers.

"I'm scared to ask mine," I admit quietly. "I... I really don't know how I swing and it's just daunting."

Rian shrugs. "It's nice sort of knowing who you're dealing with," He says. "Mine's name is Zack. He lives in town, which is pretty rad. He's scared to meet up though. He won't tell me why."

I shrug. "I doubt mine would want to meet me," I reply. I snort. "Though, I would like to meet the asshole who keeps drawing shitty penises on my hands when I'm in meetings or something important."

Rian laughs. "Sounds to me like a guy, but you can never be sure." That makes my stomach twist a little. That's what I was almost afraid of.

I try to reassure myself that might not be the case. Hell, I could end up getting someone nonbinary for all I know. I don't know why it agitates me so much.

"Anyways," Rian says, snapping me out of my daze, "you should be fucking pumped for this! This album cover is a huge step in the right direction!"

I laugh. "Yeah, maybe I'll get a better agent," I tease. He rolls his eyes, smacking me and laughing.

“Shut up, I’m the best agent you ever had.”

“Rian, I’ve only _had_ two agents. The other was my mom, and I’m considering switching back.”

He fake gasps, pretending to be offended. “How dare you?” He asks dramatically. I laugh, nearly doubling over. He laughs too, shaking his head.

“No, but seriously,” He says, “this album cover stuff is a good thing.”

I sigh. “I know it is,” I reply. “I just kind of wish it was _my_ album with _my_ music on it.”

Rian nods. “I know, Lex,” He says, “trust me, we’re in the same boat there. Maybe someday.”

“Someday,” I mumble, putting my pen in my pocket.

We head over to a nearby café, just because I still haven’t had my coffee yet. Rian whines that we need to get back to our apartment because he wants to have friends over. I flip him off, and he stops complaining, though he does snicker.

Rian types away at his laptop while I drink my coffee, idly doodling on my arm. After a while, I notice a lack of typing. I glance up and Rian stares back, raising an eyebrow.

“Can I ask you a question?” I snort.

“You may ask another one, yes.” Rian rolls his eyes, flipping me off. I laugh. He shakes his head.

“Why are you so scared of finding out who your soulmate is?” He asks. “I mean, come on, dude! It’s already irritating me enough I’ve had to wait this long, and I’m only 22! Aren’t you anxious to figure out who it is?”

I roll my eyes. “Some people don’t meet their soulmates until after college,” I point out.

Rian groans. “Don’t remind me,” He says. He pouts. “I wonder why mine doesn’t want to meet me yet.”

I roll my eyes again. “He probably just needs time,” I reply. “Some people don’t like moving fast.”

He thinks about it for a moment before sighing and saying, “You’re probably right. I just don’t know when he’s going to come around.”

“Should I be worried mine never asks me anything?” I ask, getting a little self-conscious. “Occasionally they’ll comment on my art but other than that, I don’t get writing other than grocery lists and appointments they have to go to.”

Rian laughs. “Dude, my mom never asked my dad a single question before they accidentally met up in college,” He says. “The first time she asked him anything was because she noticed a design she drew on her arm and had to check to make sure that he was the right guy.”

I shrug. “I don’t know,” I say, looking down at the floor, “it just feels like everyone is trying to figure out who their soulmate is instead of going out and doing shit and I’m the only one not getting anything.”

Rian raises an eyebrow. “Technically you’re not asking them any questions either,” Rian points out. “Maybe you have to make the first move.”

I chew on my pen again. “Maybe,” I mumble. Rian sighs.

“Tell them about the album thing,” He says. “I bet they’re going to be really happy for you. You said yourself that they love your art!”

I shrug. “I guess I can,” I say, uncapping my pen again. I scrawl down ‘I just got a deal to design an album cover and I’m completely stocked!’, internally cringing but I know I can’t change it after I write it.

About a minute later, I get a response. ‘That’s great! I knew you were an artist, dammit. You’re a really good one. Can’t wait to see the ideas you always doodle on your arm lol’

Rian glances at my arm and raises his eyebrows. “Do you honestly doodle concept ideas on your arm?” He asks. I shrug.

“I do it absentmindedly, but sometimes I do it on purpose just to show them,” I reply. Rian smirks a little.

“Maybe now you can ask them if they’re a boy, girl, or nonbinary?” He suggests. I shake my head quickly.

“I don’t think I’m ready for that,” I say. He rolls his eyes, but doesn’t pester me about it anymore. He goes back to his typing, mumbling something about how I’m a chicken.

I glance at my arm, hesitating. Then I scrawl down another message, just to see if they’ll get freaked out. I mean, come on. We haven’t even met. I know we’re supposed to be soulmates, but that doesn’t make it any less weird.

‘I love you’

Less than a minute later, I get a response.

‘I love you too’


	2. City Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably switch between Alex's POV and Jack's POV every chapter or so. This one will be in Jack's POV

I swing open the door to Zack’s place, humming to myself. I shoulder my guitar case off, gently resting it by the couch. I can hear Zack singing in the shower. I laugh.

I check my earnings for the day. In total, I made about $410 today. That’s not bad, but I was out playing practically the entire day. I’m completely exhausted. It’s to the point where the café around the corner from where I play now call me ‘music boy’ or even, sometimes, ‘city boy’.

I flop down on the couch, sighing. I check my arm for any more notes from my soulmate. There aren’t any notes, but he’s started drawing his concept art. I like the design so far, though I can’t quite tell who he’s making the design for.

I continue watching my arm, not noticing when Zack finally leaves the bathroom and sees me. “How did it go today?” He asks, ruffling his hair. I tear my eyes away from the drawing, grinning.

“Made another $410,” I reply, “give or take.” Zack grins.

“I’d say that’s a pretty damn good day,” He says, flopping down next to me. He nudges me jokingly and adds, “Especially without me there.”

I roll my eyes, laughing. I give him a small shove. “Shut up,” I mumble. He laughs.

“Anything from Rian?” I tease. Zack blushes a little, scowling.

“I regret telling you I learned his name.” I laugh.

“Come on,” I say, “I’ve been _dying_ to know my guy’s name but he seems really timid. He never really asks me questions.”

Zack laughs. “We’re the lucky ones,” He says. “We already knew ours were going to be boys. Rian had to ask me what my gender was because he’s bisexual and didn’t have a clue.”

I chew on my lip. “Maybe mine is that way too,” I say. Zack shrugs.

“It’s possible,” He muses. “Or, he could just want a bit of the element of surprise.”

I shrug, sighing. “I just want to meet him already,” I grumble, folding my arms. “I’m tired of being lonely all of the time.”

Zack gasps, fake offended. “What am I? Chopped liver?” He asks dramatically. I laugh, shoving him. He laughs with me, shoving me back.

“You know what I mean,” I say. “I mean, come on! I’ve never even kissed anyone! I want to know how it feels.” I think for a minute. “Do you think my guy has stubble?”

Zack hums. “That would be attractive,” He comments. I laugh.

“No, but really,” I say, “I just want to meet this guy. Even if things have to go slow, even if we have to start off as friends first. I just want to meet the damn guy already.”

Zack shifts uncomfortably. “I’m scared to meet mine,” He admits. “I’m scared that he’ll hate me first. Or that he’ll think I’m lying and get mad. Remember when I drew a design and someone happened to draw the same one on their own and they yelled at me for leading them on?”

I sigh. “That was a one-time accident, dude,” I reply. “Everything will be fine. I’m sure Rian will love you from the minute he sees you. I mean, come on. Even if he doesn’t, you know damn well he’ll come around because _he’s your damn soulmate._ ”

“I guess you’re right,” He says. He sighs. “Do we have anything going tomorrow?”

I check my phone. “I have classes in the morning,” I reply. “I finish up around noon, but then I’m heading to the library for a while.”

Zack raises his eyebrows. “Why do you need to go to the library?” He asks. “We have most of the same morning classes, and we don’t have anything coming up.”

Now it’s my turn to shift uncomfortably. “It’s nothing,” I mumble, my cheeks heating up. Zack catches on, smirking. He leans closer to me, snickering.

“Is this about lover boy?” He teases. I shove him, rolling my eyes. I can’t hide the smile that creeps onto my face, though.

“Shut up, Zack.” He laughs.

“Aha! I was right!” I groan, covering my blushing face with my hands.

“Fuck you,” I whine.

“I’m taken by Rian, thank you.”

I shove him again and he laughs. “Tell me,” He whines. “Come on. It’s not like I can tell your damn soulmate what you’re doing.”

I sigh, realizing that he is right. I can’t look him in the eye and my cheeks are burning. “He mentioned that he loves flowers and has always wanted a tattoo of a rose on his hand. I’m assuming he didn’t want me to have to live with something as permanent as a tattoo that _he_ chose. Anyway, he can’t draw flowers very well, or at least not the one he wants. He can draw the generic ones pretty well, and he can draw dandelions and all that, but he wants a rose, and he can’t draw those.”

“He told you all that?” Zack asks. I shake my head.

“One time I asked him for a rose and he said he loved roses and tried to draw one but he got frustrated and scribbled all over it before washing it off. He apologized saying he isn’t the best at flowers.” He hums, nodding.

“Are you going to send him the book or something?” I glance at him, not saying anything. It takes him a moment, but then he slowly says, “You want to try and draw him a rose on his hand like he wanted?”

I nod sheepishly, hiding my cheeks again. Slowly, Zack starts to grin. He tackles me, wrapping me up in a hug. I grunt in surprise. He laughs.

“Oh my god,” He says, “that is the cutest thing, Jack! You should totally do that.”

I roll my eyes, blushing even harder. “Shut up, Zack!” I whine. He laughs.

“Can I _please_ tell Rian about it? He loves that sort of stuff.”

I scowl at him but he continues to ask. He pouts, and I swear to god, I hate when he pouts. He just looks so adorable and you can’t say no to that stupid cute face.

I sigh, finally giving in. “Fine,” I say. “BUT, you can’t even mention that my soulmate is a guy. I don’t know I just…” I chew on my lip. “It feels personal to me.”

Zack nods. “I get that,” He says. “How about I tell him that you’re trying to learn how to draw something for your soulmate?”

I nod. “That would be fine, I guess.” He laughs, giving me another hug.

“I’ll go tell him,” He says, jumping up and leaving the room. I watch him go, sighing.

I check my arm again and the design is amazing. I notice that he drew little squares so that he could divide up his concepts. I roll my eyes a little. Yep, I’ve got an artist. I never really took them as my type, especially when I was younger, but the more I see my soulmates designs, the more I realize that I guess I really am into artists.

I watch them fondly, watching the lines and colors come to life on my arm. I always thought this kind of thing was cool. Not only do you see the designs once they’re drawn, but you also get to see the person drawing them in real time if you caught them doing it. It’s a really magical thing.

After he finishes up a few more designs, I decide to go and grab a pen from the table. I start leaving nice compliments on them, just because I know how much positive feedback means to him. He stops drawing on his fourth concept for a minute, no doubt acknowledging my writing.

After a moment, he starts drawing hearts on my fingers. I laugh, smiling brightly. I watch him draw them in different colors and then I realize he’s drawing (or attempting to draw) a more realistic one on my middle finger. I laugh again, shaking my head fondly.

Once he’s done, he writes on the palm of his hand. ‘I love you so much, you have no idea’

I blush in spite of myself, my heart glowing. I write right underneath it. ‘I love you too. You’re a really amazing artist. Thanks for sharing your art with me :)’

‘Thank you for making me not feel like shit about my art’ I frown a little at that. He hates his art? Even if it’s only some of the time, it makes me sad. He really is a good artist.

‘I don’t think you can make shitty art, honestly. Get back to designing’

All I get is a little heart in response. I laugh, sighing happily. I watch more colors appear on my arm and honestly, I think I could watch this for the rest of my life.


	3. Dreamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV

“Have you got any ideas yet for the cover?” Rian whispers to me in class. I show him my arm. I could only fit about 7 on my arm, including the back of my hand. I have a few on my legs, but I’m not going to show him that.

Rian snickers a little when he sees my soulmate’s compliments. “They seem to really like your art,” He comments. I nod, my heart fluttering a little.

“They’re really nice about it,” I say bashfully. “I just can’t believe they genuinely like my shitty art.”

“Oh come on,” Rian says, giving me a small shove. “Give yourself some credit. Your art is amazing.” I shrug off the compliment.

He sighs. We continue taking notes for a while, just because I do actually sort of need to pass this class. After about ten minutes though, we get bored again and go back to quietly chatting. I take a sip of my coffee as Rian talks.

“Also, Zack told me that his roommate got a book from the library so he can learn to draw something for his soulmate,” He says. “Isn’t that the cutest thing?”

I nod, smiling. “That is,” I say. “That’s… that’s actually really sweet.”

A light bulb goes off in my head and I start to grin. Maybe Zack’s roommate has a good idea. Maybe I can do that for mine too. Besides, it would help me in the long run anyway.

“Did he say what his roommate was going to draw?” I ask. Rian shakes his head.

“I tried to ask. He said his roommate didn’t want him telling me, whatever that meant.” I shrug, not sure what it means either.

After class, I head to the café again while Rian heads back to the apartment. I promised I’d get him some food. Though, I take a different route than I usually do. I don’t know what drives me to do it, but I don’t think much of it. Not everything has to be a routine.

As I walk towards the café, I notice a street performer and decide to go watch. Once I get closer, I realize it’s a boy playing the guitar. I put on my gloves, just because I don’t want to be bothered with soulmate questions. I can already hear some of the older adults asking younger adults and teenagers about their designs. I just want to listen to the music.

I can’t get a good look at the kid right away, but I can hear him. His voice is a bit shaky and I can tell he’s holding back, but he still sounds nice. It’s his guitar playing that really catches my ear. I can appreciate a good guitar player.

I sway along to the music, humming along. When he finishes the song, he laughs a little. “Does, uh,” He asks, stammering a little, “does anyone have any requests?”

“Can you play All The Small Things by blink-182?” I suggest. I try to make my way forward a little to get a better look at the boy.

He laughs a little. “Of course,” He replies. “I happen to love blink-182.”

He starts to play and that’s when I finally make my way towards him. I freeze, staring at him. He’s got fluffy black hair that doesn’t look like it’s been brushed in a few days. He’s got on a sweatshirt and gloves and worn out skinny jeans. I watch his hands play the guitar, practically awe-struck.

He happens to look up at me while he’s playing and he smiles at me, faltering a little. I smile back. His eyes are pretty as well. They’re a deep brown, gentle and soft. His eyes crinkle a bit as he smiles and oh my god, this guy is cute.

I don’t even catch myself singing along until his grin gets bigger and his voice gets louder. People are listening to the both of us now and it’s making me blush. I dabbled with street performing a while ago but I haven’t done it in a long time.

When the song ends, the boy smiles up at me. “Nice request,” He comments. I laugh a little.

“You’re really good,” I say. He laughs, putting his head down bashfully.

“Thank you,” He mumbles. He looks back up at me. “You a musician?”

I shrug. “I play,” I reply. “I write my own stuff but it usually doesn’t see the light of day.”

The boy shrugs as well. “Shame,” He replies. “You have a really good voice.”

I blush, a hand flying up to my cheek. “Thanks,” I mumble. He laughs and goddammit he has a cute laugh too?

He extends a hand. “I’m Jack,” He says. I take his hand, smiling.

“Alex,” I reply. He grins.

“Nice to meet you, Alex,” He says. He chews on his bottom lip and my eyes flicker to it. This makes him grin and I blush, looking away again.

“I’ll see you around, Jack,” I say, tossing a five into his guitar case. He grins.

“I hope so, Alex,” He replies with a wink. I scowl slightly and he laughs so I can’t keep it up. I roll my eyes a little, waving before I walk to the café.

I can’t make the heat leave my cheeks. He’s just some guy on the street. So why does he make me so nervous and flustered? I mean, he is really cute. Maybe that’s why.

I’m still blushing by the time I get back to the apartment with Rian’s food. He’s playing video games when I walk in. He glances over at me before pausing the game. He gets up, going to take the food. Then he notices my blushing cheeks and he smirks.

“What happened?” He asks. I give him the food, hurrying past him.

“Nothing,” I reply. He laughs, rushing after me. I grin, running until Rian grabs me from behind. I shriek, struggling to get free. We both laugh.

“What happened?” He asks again. I sigh.

“I just talked to a street performer and he flirted with me, alright?” I reply. Rian stops for a second.

“Was he by our usual café? Around the corner from it?” I nod slowly, confused.

Rian breaks into a grin. “Holy shit, dude,” He says, “that’s a good sign.”

I stare at him in confusion until he explains. “If I’m not mistaken,” He says, “that’s Zack’s roommate. I thought that's where Zack was talking about. That means he’s on this side of town, or comes here often.” He gasps a little. “Maybe I can ask him to help me meet Zack.”

I pat him on the shoulder, laughing. “Easy there,” I say. “I just met him. His name is Jack.”

He grins. “That’s the one.” Then he raises an eyebrow. “You found him cute?”

I look away, grumbling. “He’s a bit cute,” I admit. Rian wiggles his eyebrows.

“Maybe he’s your soulmate,” He teases. I shove him, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah right.” He shrugs.

“You never know.”

I shrug it off, grabbing my colored pens and starting to draw again. Though, I still can’t get that boy off my mind. I don’t even realize I’m drawing anything blink-182 related until my soulmate comments on it. I debate whether or not I should explain what happened today. I decide not to.

It was probably just a passing crush anyway.


	4. Musician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's POV

“Long time no see.” I glance up from my guitar, grinning at Alex.

“Glad you’re finally back,” I say. “Where have you been?”

He shrugs. “Visiting family,” He replies. I hum, going back to tuning my guitar.

“Work on any of that mysterious music of yours?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. Alex scoffs a little, though I know he’s smiling.

“I should have never told you about that.” I grin.

“How long have I been pestering you about it?”

Alex thinks for a minute. “I’d say almost a month now.” I laugh.

“Ah yes,” I tease, “it’s been a month and you still haven’t invited me to your apartment.”

Dawning seems to hit him. He blinks. “…You’re Zack’s roommate, right?” He asks. I narrow my eyes, completely confused.

“Yeah…? Why?” He grins, extending his hand.

“Rian’s roommate,” He says. My eyes widen.

“No way.” He laughs, nodding.

“Can you show me a picture of him?” I ask, putting my guitar away. “I’m assuming if Zack ever meets the guy that I won’t get to see him until they’ve been together for a little while.”

He laughs again, pulling out his phone. While I wait, I take a minute to admire him. He’s got soft ginger hair and sparkling brown eyes. His bangs keep falling into his face and he keeps blowing them away instead of brushing them with his hand. I notice a bit of stubble and for some reason I’m reminded of talking to Zack about my soulmate.

We’re about the same height, and around the same age. He’s got a bit better build than I do (and by that I mean, a little less skinny). If I think about it, he’s actually kind of cute. I’m not quite sure he swings that way, though. You never know, I guess.

Finally, he manages to find a picture of Rian. I take the phone in my hands, laughing a little. “So this is the Rian that Zack won’t shut up about?” I ask. Alex laughs.

“That’s the one,” He replies. I grin.

Rian is actually pretty attractive. The picture is of him and Alex at some sort of college game. I can't tell if it's for their own college or not. Alex has never mentioned what college he goes to. Rian has his arm slung around Alex’s shoulders and Alex is just grinning like a madman. Zack’s got good taste, and he hasn’t even seen the damn guy yet.

“I’ve got to say,” I comment, giving Alex back his phone, “I can’t deny that Zack has a good taste in men.” I shrug. “Not quite my type, but I know a cute guy when I see one.”

Alex stares at me. “Do I fall under that list?” He asks curiously. I laugh, though my heart flutters a little bit at the question.

I look him over, chewing on my lip. “I’d say you do, yeah,” I reply. I grin. “Whoever gets you is pretty damn lucky.”

He blushes, stammering a little. He tries to hide his face and it makes me smile even more. He looks really cute when he blushes.

Trying to change the topic, he asks, “Do you have a photo of Zack?”

I nod, fishing my phone out of my pocket. I scroll through my photos, though I’m very much aware of Alex staring at me. Something about him is just making me flustered but I can’t pinpoint what. What is it with this guy?

Finally, I find a good enough photo to show Alex. It’s a picture of Zack and I at a Green Day concert last fall. It’s kind of blurry, but it’s one of the best photos I have of him. I smile, remembering that night. I fucking loved that concert.

I give Alex my phone, letting him look at the picture. His eyes widen. “That’s Zack?” He asks. I nod, trying to hide a smile. Alex whistles.

“Your roommate is hot as hell, dude,” He says. “Rian’s a lucky guy. Holy shit.”

I feel a twinge of jealousy at that, but it fades quickly. I know he won’t end up with Zack because Rian is Zack’s soulmate. Then again, I’m probably not Alex’s soulmate either. You’d think I would feel something. Then again, I did just learn that no, Alex is sure as hell not straight.

“They’re probably going to be all over each other when they meet,” I comment. Alex shakes his head.

“It would take Rian a minute,” He replies. “He can get a bit timid when he talks to attractive people, let alone his fucking soulmate.” I laugh.

“Fair enough,” I say “Zack is kind of the same way. He comes off as a bit shy when you first meet him, but when he opens up, holy hell, man.”

Alex laughs. “I can’t wait to tell Rian I just saw a picture of his soulmate,” He says. “He’s both going to be excited and completely pissed at me.” I laugh.

“Same with me and Zack,” I add. He laughs again.

When he calms down, he blurts out, “So how are drawing lessons doing?” I freeze.

“What?” I ask. Alex’s eyes widen and he covers his mouth.

“Shit,” He curses. “Sorry dude.”

I narrow my eyes. “Rian told you, didn’t he.” He gives me a sheepish smile and that’s my confirmation. I groan, laughing a little.

“It’s going fine,” I reply after a moment. I snort. “Well, no, it’s actually extremely difficult and I can see why my soulmate has a hard time drawing them because holy shit, it’s harder than it looks.”

“It’s a really sweet idea, though,” Alex says. He shifts his weight. “It actually kind of inspired me to do the same with mine." 

I grin, blushing. “Glad I could help,” I reply. I hesitate for a moment. “Do you know yours?” For a split second, I’m almost praying he says no.

To my relief, he shakes his head. He scratches the back of his neck. “I’ve kind of been too scared to ask them,” He admits. “It’s just…” He chews on his lip. “It’s just really daunting.”

I nod. “Same here,” I say. “I’ve been scared to ask him who he is. I’m kind of scared he’ll be someone I hate right now, or hates me right now, and we just don’t realize.”

Alex’s eyes widen. “I thought I was the only one who was afraid of that,” He says. I laugh, opening my arms.

“Nope,” I reply. “I’m also completely terrified.”

I glance at my arm. He hasn’t written today, which worries me a little. “He’s told me he loves me,” I say. I start to smile. “He likes telling me that. I compliment him a lot.” I laugh. “It’s almost like I fell in love with his handwriting.”

Alex chews on his lip. “You’re lucky,” He says. I glance at him worriedly. His eyes widen. “Not like that,” He says. “My soulmate compliments me a lot. It’s just…” He looks down at the ground. “I kind of don’t know where I swing and I don’t even know if mine is a boy, a girl, or nonbinary.”

I frown, feeling sorry for him. I put a hand on his shoulder. “Well,” I say, “whoever they are, they’re one lucky person. I know that for a fact.”

Alex smiles at me, blushing again. “Thanks, Jack,” He mumbles. I smile.

“No problem,” I reply. I pick up my guitar again. “Are you going to stick around for a while?”

Alex shakes his head, checking the time. “I have a class in about twenty minutes,” He replies. “Then I have to keep working. I just wanted to stop by.”

I frown a little, my heart falling a little. Before he leaves, I say, “Wait, can I have your number? I can’t believe I didn’t ask before.”

Alex turns back to me, smiling a little. “Sure,” He replies. We switch phones, putting our numbers in. I put hearts next to my name, just to mess with him a little.

When we’re done, we switch back phones. I immediately narrow my eyes at Alex’s contact name. He narrows his eyes at mine. We exchange looks, snickering a little. Then Alex waves goodbye, walking down the street. I watch him for a while, just admiring him. Then I start playing again, smiling to myself.

I can’t wait to rub it in Zack’s face that I have seen what his soulmate looks like and he hasn't.


	5. Matchmaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV

I grin evilly as I enter class. I sit down next to Rian, who doesn’t fully acknowledge me at first. He has his earbuds in, and I can hear him blasting Green Day. I snort. He continues doodling in his notebook, completely oblivious to my presence.

When the lecture actually starts, I nudge Rian to get his attention. He glances over at me, smiling a little. He lowers the volume of his music, taking an earbud out. He starts writing notes idly, humming along with his music.

The longer the class goes on, the giddier I get. I start bouncing in my seat a little, grinning. I just want to tell him already.

Once the class is finally over, I figure now is the best time to tell him. Sure, I had tons of opportunities during class, but I was afraid he was going to have a loud reaction and yell in the middle of class. He takes out his earbuds, looking fully over at me.

I grin again and he narrows his eyes at me, freezing. “What’s that look for?” He asks.

Instead of responding, I grin even more. “I talked to Jack today,” I say, trying to sound more nonchalant than I actually am.

Rian rolls his eyes. “Where is this story going?” He asks. I laugh.

“Well….” I say, whistling nonchalantly. “Jack showed me a very interesting picture on his phone and I must say, you have really good taste.”

He seems confused at first, furrowing his brows. He processes this for a second before his eyes widen. He smacks me on the arm and I wince.

“You saw him?” He asks excitedly. His voice is a little too loud for comfort and people start staring but he doesn’t seem to notice or care. I laugh.

“I saw a picture of him,” I reply. “He’s really cute, dude.”

Rian looks like a child on Christmas morning. “What did he look like?” He asks. “Do you have the picture? Did Jack say anything about him? How cute is he?”

I laugh, patting his shoulder. “Easy there,” I say, making him smack me on the arm. I rub my arm, fake pouting. He flips me off and I laugh again.

“He’s really cute,” I say. “No, I don’t have the picture but I could ask Jack. Jack said he’s a bit shy when you first meet him but he’s a hell of a guy when you get to know him. Oh, and he likes Green Day.”

Rian’s eyes light up. He pulls me into a tight hug, making me grunt in surprise. I hug back, laughing. He starts rambling about Zack in his excitement. I can’t even understand half of what he’s saying but it’s alright because I know how excited he is.

Finally, he calms down a bit. We gather our stuff and leave, but I can tell that Rian is going to be thinking about this for a while. I’ve never seen him smile this brightly before.

When we get back to the apartment, Rian starts scribbling away on his arm, no doubt rambling to Zack about what I told him. He does pale a bit at one point and I figure that’s when Zack mentions that Jack saw a picture of him. Rian glares over at me and I’m proven right. I snicker while he goes back to writing.

I start trying to make my concepts come to life a bit better. I’m drawing them on my drawing tablet, picking the designs that my soulmate liked the most. Still, something seems missing from the covers. I can’t tell what it is.

I sigh, slumping back in my chair. I stare at the screen, chewing on my lip. After a while, I decide to write my soulmate, just because I need a little pick me up and I think Rian is busy. I have other friends, sure, but they’re usually pretty busy or I’m not as close with them.

‘Hit a wall with my cover art again :(‘

They reply almost immediately. ‘How so?’

‘Something seems missing,’ I reply.

‘What designs are you doing?’

‘The ones you liked.’

‘Awwww, that’s sweet.’

I laugh a little, shaking my head. Before I can start writing another message, they write again. ‘I love you so much, you know that, right?’

My heart flutters and I smile. ‘I know,’ I reply. ‘I love you too.’

They start drawing hearts all over my arm and I laugh, smiling fondly. I watch them, my heart glowing. I have never seen this person in my life yet they make me so happy? At least I know that the love isn’t rooted in just looks.

‘Is this making you feel better?’ They ask. I laugh.

‘Yes,’ I reply.

‘Good.’

They continue drawing hearts, but then they also start scribbling ‘I love you’ everywhere. I giggle. I can feel my heart swelling in my chest and I have so much love for this person. I don’t realize Rian is watching me until I hear him awwww from the doorway. I glance away from the writing to look at him, my cheeks heating up.

He smiles. “Are you sure you haven’t met your soulmate yet?” He asks. He walks over, sitting down next to me. He traces the words with his fingers. I shake my head.

“I’m pretty sure I haven’t met them yet,” I reply. “At least I don’t think so.”

Rian shrugs. “They seem to really love you though,” He says. I nod, smiling. I watch more and more hearts and ‘I love you’s pop up, changing colors. They switched pens.

“Yeah,” I sigh fondly. After watching for a little while, I take my pen, which is a different color than theirs, and start doing the same thing.

They stop for a moment, noticing what I’m doing. Then they write something different. ‘I can’t wait to meet you someday.’

I don’t mean to start crying. I really don’t. But the tears come anyway and I’m smiling and I’ve never been so happy to see someone’s handwriting. Rian awwws again, but I can see tears in his eyes too. My vision blurs so I have to stop writing for a moment. I laugh, wiping the tears away.

“I feel feminine,” Rian jokes, sniffling. I laugh.

“I feel in love,” I reply. We both laugh at how cheesy that is but honestly, I mean it.

Rom-com style, sure, but having rom-com moments in real life can be pretty damn sweet so let me enjoy it a little. Besides, this is really cute. Especially since it’s my soulmate. This person is going to be the person I spend forever with.

Rian leaves the room again, saying he needs to punch a wall ‘to feel manly again’. I know that just means that he needs to stop crying and maybe listen to more music. I let him go. I continue to watch the hearts pop up on my arms, drawing my own beside them.

After a while, we both run out of room, so we stop. I stare at our work, chewing on my lip. It looks like middle school notes but I don’t really mind. It’s cute; I’ll let it slide.

I start working on my class work, just because I’m still stuck when it comes to the cover concepts. I’ll probably figure out what it’s missing at some random time like in the shower or just before I sleep at 4AM. No use dwelling on it.

I keep getting distracted, but eventually I make good enough progress on my class work that I decide to call it a night. I can hear Rian tapping his drum sticks on his desk from the other room. I close my laptop, sighing. My eyelids feel like lead.

I stumble into my room, peeling off my shirt and jeans. I smack my legs on the bed, cursing. Then I crawl into bed, staring out the window. I look at my arm one more time, smiling. I wish my arm would look like this forever.

Someday, I’m getting a tattoo of their handwriting. I could stare at it forever.


	6. Artist (In Training)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's POV (Also sorry if it's a little choppy I come up with the plot as I go)

I continue to struggle with drawing the rose my soulmate wanted. I’m getting better, but it’s not as good as I want it to be yet. I really want this to be special. He always give me really nice designs and all I can offer up are appointments and cartoon dicks. He seems to like my hearts though.

“Are you still up?” Zack mumbles. I nod, continuing to practice. He sighs, putting a hand on my arm.

“Go to sleep,” He says quietly. “You can worry about it in the morning.”

I shake my head. “I’m getting so close,” I reply. “I’ve almost got it done. Once I’ve got it, I can show him.”

I glance over at my roommate and he smiles lazily. “You’re so in love,” He murmurs. I snort.

“Like you’re one to talk.” He laughs.

Then he sluggishly takes away my pen. I whine, trying to take it back. He hugs it close to his chest. I laugh, trying to get him to give me it back.

“Just let me give it one more try,” I whine. “One more try and then I’ll stop for the night.”

He raises his eyebrows. “You promise?” I roll my eyes.

“Yes, I promise, now give me back my pen.”

He laughs quietly, handing over the pen. I stick my tongue out at him and he does the same. Then I start drawing again, trying to concentrate. This has to be perfect. I want to do something special for him.

After I don’t get it quite right the next try, I sigh. I can feel Zack’s tired eyes rest on me and I decide not to pick a fight. I put my stuff away reluctantly, grumbling to myself. The only reason I’m in Zack’s room was for a second opinion and to keep me company.

“Can you stay?” He asks. “I’m fucking freezing.”

I grin, shrugging. “Sure,” I reply. “What the hell do I have to lose?” He smiles.

I put my stuff in the corner of the room before joining him. He lazily wraps his arms around me, humming. I shift, getting comfortable. Then I start to tell him something, but my voice stops working. I fall asleep, not finishing my thought.

The next morning, Zack finally agrees to come out and play with me again. It’s been a little while since he’s played with me, and I’m sort of hoping that Alex shows up today so he can meet Zack in person.

We head out, passing the café on our way. The employees wave at us and we wave back, smiling. Then we make our way to our usual spot, setting up. Zack starts complaining as usual that ‘he likes the bass guitar so much more than the acoustic guitar’ and, as usual, I tell him to fuck off. He laughs, giving me a small shove.

We start playing random covers, though neither of us is too confident in our voices. They’re not necessarily bad, per say, they’re just not the best either. It’s a wonder we still get payed when we sing.

People pass by us, though there aren’t many just because it’s a Tuesday morning and most people are at work by now. Some people who pass us are generous enough to toss us a five on their way past. Most people don’t stop to listen. We don’t mind. We like playing anyway.

Just around the time we’re stopping for lunch, I happen to glance up. I see Alex and my face lights up. I see him talking to some guy whose back is turned. I narrow my eyes. Is that…?

When the guy turns around, I nearly choke on my own saliva. There is no way. This is just one huge coincidence. Zack turns to me, slightly worried.

“Are you alright?” He asks. I nod, grinning brightly.

“Alex!” I call over. Alex stops talking to Rian for a second, grinning over at me.

His eyes wander to Zack and his eyes widen. He exchanges looks with me and I nod wildly. Alex grins. He practically drags Rian over to us, grinning like a madman. Zack and Rian stare at us in confusion.

“What’s the big deal?” Zack asks. I fish my pen out of my pocket.

“Zack, write something on the back of your hand,” I tell him. He seems puzzled, but does it anyway.

‘Hi Rian’

Sure enough, the writing appears on the back of Rian’s hand. It takes them both a second to realize it. They both stare at Rian’s hand, and then Zack’s. The two make eye contact and I can almost watch the world fall out from under them. I grin at Alex and he grins back.

They’re both silent for a while, taking each other in. Surprisingly, Zack is the one to break the silence. He smiles slightly, though it’s a little lopsided. “Hi Rian,” He says quietly. “’S nice to finally meet you.”

Rian nods, still in shock. “You too, Zack,” He replies, just as quietly. Alex and I watch the two lovebirds, snickering to ourselves. A few people have stopped, staring at the two idiots in love. People like watching soulmates meet up for the first time.

Then the excitement fully hits them. They hug each other tightly, laughing. I look over at Alex. “What are the odds, right?”

He laughs. “I bet Rian is glad I dragged his ass outside.”

“Same with Zack.”

The two lovebirds become wrapped up in conversation, chattering excitedly with each other. I try to listen, but since I’m not included in the conversation anyway, I start to tune it out. I turn my attention to Alex, whom has also lost interest in their conversation.

I pat the spot next to me and Alex sits down. I offer him my guitar. “I still haven’t heard you play,” I comment. Alex rolls his eyes, giving me a small shove.

“Why do you want to hear me play so badly?” He asks. I shrug.

“I figured if you play guitar as well as you sing then I’d love to hear it,” I reply. He blushes, looking away. He tries to hide the small smile on his face, but I still catch it. I grin in triumph.

Reluctantly, he takes the guitar, grumbling to himself. He tunes it a little, just to stall for time. Then he sits there, resting my guitar on his lap. I snort.

“Play Blink-182,” I suggest. Alex glares at me and I laugh.

After a moment of hesitation, he starts to play. Zack and Rian’s conversation falters a little bit. Alex keeps his eyes trained on the guitar, as if he’s trying to block everyone else out.

I know the song, and I should be singing along, but all I can think about is the music he’s playing. How he plays the guitar and how he sings and how he doesn’t even have to look to play it. He doesn’t dare look up at anyone, just closing his eyes after a while.

I watch him, getting this pull in my chest. I watch how he forms his words and how his bangs fall into his face but he doesn’t even care. I watch how he starts to bounce around a little to the music, occasionally letting a smile or a breathless laugh slip through. I stare at him and wonder how the hell he could ever keep a talent like this in the dark.

Once the song is finished, people start to clap. They leave money in the case like they would for Zack or me. Rian and Zack have long since stopped their conversation, listening to Alex play. They both smile at him, complimenting how he played. Then they launch back into their conversation, cautiously holding hands. They’re so cute I could throw up.

I turn to Alex, smiling brightly. “That was amazing!” I exclaim, pulling him into a side hug. He laughs, looking away bashfully.

“Thanks,” He mumbles, giving me back the guitar.

“You should come out and play with us more often,” I suggest. This seems to catch Zack’s interest.

“That would be awesome,” He says. “We’d love to have you play with us.”

My eyes light up. “We could start a band!” I exclaim. Alex’s eyes light up as well and he sits up straighter.

“Really?” He asks, trying not to show how excited he is. I laugh, nodding.

“I’m down with the idea,” Zack says. He turns to Rian, silently asking him if he wants to join too. He laughs.

“I can play drums,” Rian suggests. Zack bounces a little.

“I can play bass!” I laugh, flipping him off. He laughs, returning the gesture.

“That leaves Alex and I on guitar,” I conclude.

Everyone nods, but then Alex frowns. After a moment, he asks, “Who’s gonna sing?”

We all exchange glances before Rian, Zack and I grin at each other. We all turn to Alex, still grinning. Fear and mild horror flicker in his expression.

“Oh, no, no, no,” He protests. “No way in hell.”

I pout. “Come on,” I whine, giving him a small shove. “You have an amazing voice, Alex! You’re the perfect choice for lead singer.”

“I second that,” Zack agrees.

“I third that,” Rian adds, earning a glare from Alex. I look at Alex expectantly.

He maintains eye contact, and I can tell he’s really trying hard to continue saying no. After a few minutes, however, he finally caves. He sighs, slumping down a bit.

“Fine,” He says, “I’ll sing.”

Zack, Rian, and I all give each other high fives while Alex laughs, shaking his head. “What the hell did I just agree to do?” He asks.

I grin. “You just signed up for the best time of your life,” I reply.

“Now what are you guys waiting for? Let’s play!”


	7. Lead Singer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer is back up, though I don't trust it. We never quite figured out what was wrong. Anyway, hope you enjoy this. I'm funny, I swear.

The whole band idea was much better of an idea while it was still in our heads.

Sure, we sound good. We have fun messing around on our instruments. We get along. Everything seems fine and peachy, right?

I think I may have actually signed up for hell.

Rian and Zack are almost always on each other in some way; Jack won’t stop pestering me about the songs I wrote in high school because ‘they’re probably amazing and I just want to hear them’; we either sit on our phones for over an hour before realizing that we need to start practice or we practice until 3AM and there is no in between, etc. etc.

On one of our off days, I sit, staring at my computer screen. I’ve dwindled down my cover options to 2 covers, but the deadline is coming up, and I still don’t think they look quite right. I’ve tried everything to try and fix them, but nothing works. I’ve tried starting new; that doesn’t work either. I’ve really hit a wall this time.

Rian is practicing a new song we wrote in his room, and while it’s soothing hearing him play, it’s also making it extremely hard to focus. I glare towards his door, silently cursing myself for thinking this was a good idea. I won’t quit though. I still love the band.

We don’t quite have a name yet. We’ve tossed a few ideas around, but most of the time that goes a little something like:

_“Band name ideas, go.”_

_“blink-182.”_

_“Jack.”_

_“Ok, fine. How about blink-183?”_

_“JaCK.”_

_“I say Blue Day.”_

_“Green Day is about weed, dumbass, not just the color.”_

_“Fine. Weed Day it is.”_

_“I don’t think we’d sell records with that, and none of us use weed.”_

_“Oh shut up.”_

I rest my case.

Anyways, as I’m trying to fix my design, writing starts appearing on my arm. ‘Hey, you haven’t written in a few days, are you alright?’

I smile, instantly relaxing a little more. I grab my pen and write back. ‘I’m fine, I guess. Hit a wall with my art again. Deadline is coming up.’

‘Aw, I’m sorry,’ They reply. ‘I wish I could help.’

That makes me smile even more. ‘Same here.’

I start idly looking at my designs again, assuming that’s the end of the conversation. I start changing filters, color schemes, fonts, etc. but nothing seems to work. Maybe I’m overthinking this. I just want to know I’m putting my best foot forward.

However, when I look back at my hand, I realize that my soulmate has resorted to drawing cartoon penises again because I’m ignoring them. My eyes widen and I curse. I notice a little note scrawled in the corner.

‘Quit ignoring me, asshole.’

I quickly scrawl my own note. ‘Ok, ok, ok, I’m here,’ I write. ‘Quit drawing dicks.’

‘Good,’ They reply. ‘Did I make you laugh?’

I laugh a little. ‘And gave me a heart attack.’

‘Close enough.’

I laugh a bit harder, shaking my head. ‘Can you please wash that shit off of my hand?’

‘Fine, fine’

A few minutes later, they start washing off the dicks, though I snicker as I watch. Sometimes I wonder what goes through their heads when they write me. I feel like sometimes I’m just their substitute for the corner of their notebook. I don’t mind though.

‘Better now?’

‘Yes, thank you.’

‘Do you love me now?’

‘I loved you anyway.’

‘I love you too.’

I smile happily, sighing. I start to close my laptop, but then I get an idea. I open up a new document on my computer, starting to write. Is it going to see the light of day? Probably not. Still, I want to write.

Maybe someday I’ll show my soulmate. Maybe I’ll sing it to them, if I get the guts to. I just don’t think I’ll probably show the band. It feels too personal to share with them. That, and it probably won’t be any good anyway.

I don’t notice Rian has come into the room until I hear him ask, “Are you writing a paper or something?”

I snap my head up to look at him. He raises an eyebrow and my cheeks flush. “It’s nothing,” I mumble. I look away from him continuing to write.

“Is it your music you haven’t shown anyone since, like, sophomore year?”

“Maybe.”

Rian sighs. “You’re a good writer, Alex,” He says, sitting nearby me. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about him snooping from this angle. I shake my head.

“I’m better at drawing, and even then, I kinda suck at that too,” I reply. “It’s just… sometimes it’s just easier to draw what I mean than to say it. It’s easier to show than to talk. If I can’t show then I probably don’t have the right words to say either. I’m just not good with words.”

Rian shrugs. “Maybe,” He replies. “Or, you’re not giving yourself enough credit and you keep beating yourself up over the little things.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ll never get better if I don’t.”

“You’ll also stress yourself out and you’ll never love what you do,” He replies flatly. “Sometimes you need to be proud of something and then realize later on how much you’ve improved since then.”

“Easier said than done,” I mumble, closing my laptop.

Rian sighs. I glance over at him. He’s looking at me with sad eyes again. I know the look. He looks that way every time I trash my art, every time I’ve said no to sharing my old songs. He looks at me like that when I get frustrated over something no one else would even notice.

I chew on my lip. I tap my fingers on my laptop, unsure of what to say. Then Rian comes over and gives me a hug. It’s quick, like they usually are, but it’s still comforting. I hug back.

“You should take a break,” He says. “Clear your head a bit.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah,” I say. “Take a break.”

He smiles slightly. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

I manage a smile. “Are you sure you won’t be busy talking to your boyfriend?”

His cheeks turn red. “Oh shut up,” He grumbles. “We still haven’t gone on a date yet.”

“You should,” I reply, getting up. “You said yourself you were tired of waiting for your soulmate. Now you’ve met him, so what have you got to lose?”

He thinks about that as I move past him. Just as my door is shutting, he calls back, “You know what? You’re right. I’m going to ask him on a date.”

I grin. “There ya go!” I call back triumphantly. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

He laughs and I laugh with him. I shake my head, putting my laptop away. Once I have, I debate on whether or not I should sleep. It’s 1AM, but Rian is probably going to keep practicing. Then again, I think sleep is really the only thing that’ll keep my mind off of the concepts and my writing.

I write on my arm, smiling a little. “I’m going to sleep now, so no more cartoon dicks for ignoring you, ok?’

‘Fine. Sweet dreams, then.’

‘I’ll dream of you.’

‘Sap.’

‘Oh, be quiet.’

‘You love me, though.’ I smile, shaking my head fondly.

‘To the moon and back.’


	8. Jack

“I’ve almost got it!” I shout excitedly. Zack pokes his head in.

“Really?” He asks. I nod quickly. I show him the drawing and he smiles, raising his eyebrows. “That looks amazing, Jack.”

I grin, looking at the drawing again. “Just a bit more practice and I think I’ll be ready to show him,” I gush. “I can’t wait for him to see it.”

Zack chuckles. I notice him starting to put on his coat and I frown. “Hey, where are you going?” I ask. He turns to me, humming.

“Rian finally asked me out on a date a few days ago,” He replies. “Our date happens to be tonight.”

I aww, making him glare at me. I laugh, shaking my head. “Don’t get drunk, or at least too drunk. Make sure you use protection. Don’t get arrested. Don’t be too loud.”

He walks over to me, shoving me. “Shut up,” He whines. I laugh, trying to push him off of me.

“I’m just a worried mother,” I tease. Zack rolls his eyes.

“I swear to god, Jack.” I laugh again.

“Have fun on your date!” I chirp. He sighs, straightening himself out. He smiles.

“I know I will.”

“Sap.”

“Oh quiet."

He shakes his head, chuckling as he leaves the room. As the door closes, I realize where I heard that last bit before. I roll up my sleeve, looking at my writing from my soulmate. My heart instantly flutters when I look at it. I smile.

I start strumming on my guitar, trying to think of a better riff for the new song. I soon realize though that I’m playing a Rolling Stones song and decide to just fuck around doing covers. It’s fun for a while, but then I start to get bored. I take out my phone, scrolling through my feed.

Alex texts me about twenty minutes later, asking me about the new song. I grin. ‘Haven’t finished the guitar riffs yet,’ I reply. ‘I worked on it for a while but then I realized I was just playing covers.’

‘Hit a wall, huh?’ He asks. I laugh. Yet again, I’m reminded of my soulmate.

‘Sort of,’ I reply. ‘I guess you could say that.’

‘How much did Zack gush about his date?’

‘Not much, surprisingly,’ I reply. ‘Then again, I think it was because I teased him and pretended to be the overprotective mom.’

I can practically hear Alex laughing his bright, twinkling laugh. ‘Same here.’

‘Do you want to come over?’ I ask. ‘I’m bored.’

‘Can’t,’ He replies. ‘I have to study and Rian wants me to keep an eye on the apartment. We had a bit of a break-in scare a while ago and ever since he’s a bit hesitant to leave the apartment alone.’

I furrow my eyebrows. ‘Explain.’

‘It’s funny, really. Turns out they weren’t trying to break into our apartment, but someone else’s. They just got the apartment number wrong. They didn’t take anything, but they did push some stuff around, and we caught them. Scared the shit out of us.’

‘Oh damn.’

‘I know, right?’

I laugh. ‘Why don’t you come over here, then?’ He asks.

‘It’s too far.’

‘You lazy piece of shit.’

‘That’s me, alright.’

‘Ok but same.’

I laugh, shaking my head. ‘Hey, do you know when our next band practice is?’ I ask.

‘Friday at 3:30, I think,’ Alex replies. ‘I think that’s what Rian told me.’

‘I’ll check with Zack later,’ I reply.

‘So, how are drawing lessons?’ He asks. I grin.

‘I’ve almost got it! I think I might be able to show him soon!’

‘That’s great! I bet he’ll love it.’

‘Damn, I hope so.’

‘Are you going to show him tonight?’

I shake my head wildly. ‘Oh god, no. I don’t think I’ll be ready.’

‘Got to leave him anticipating.’

‘Oh shut up.’

‘Make me.’

I snort, rolling my eyes. After a while, Alex says that he should probably get at least a little done on his revisions for his paper. I leave him to it. I know how stressed he gets sometimes.

I keep turning what he said over and over in my head. Am I ready to show him tonight? I mean, the last few tries I’ve done have turned out near perfect. I don’t want to screw it up, but then again, no amount of practice can really save 100% from fucking up. Should I just take that chance?

I tap my pen on my notebook, chewing on my lip. Maybe I should. There are a million reasons why I should and a million reasons why I shouldn’t.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady my heart rate. I make sure I have all my colored pens. My hands are starting to shake, and I have to try to force them to stop.

I uncap one of my pens, writing on my arm. ‘Are you there?’

After about a minute or two of anxiety, he replies, ‘Yeah, why?’

I smile in spite of my nervousness. ‘I have a surprise for you.’

‘I have one for you, too.’

I raise my eyebrows. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah, actually.’

‘How about we both show each other our surprises now? Just to get it over with.’

There’s a bit of hesitation before he replies. ‘What have I got to lose?’

“What do I have to lose?” I repeat to myself, taking a deep breath.

Then, I start to draw, but on my hand this time.


	9. Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oops

We both start drawing at the same time. They start drawing on my hand while I draw on their arm. I want to watch them draw, but I also don’t want to freak them out and I want to show them my surprise too.

I try to calm my racing heart as I draw. I wonder if they’ll remember. If they don’t, I guess that’s fine. But if they do, they’ll realize that I learned how to draw it for them.

A while ago, they asked me to draw them a rose. I couldn’t get it right. Now I’m surprising them with the rose I wasn’t able to draw them before.

Occasionally I cast glances at what they’re doing. I can’t quite tell what they’re doing at first. I wonder if they’re watching me draw, too, or if they’re too scared to watch.

Finally, I just decide I can look at their finished product later. I focus entirely on my drawing. I chew on my lip, praying that I don’t screw this up. Even if I make a minor screw up, I know they won’t mind. I just want this to be perfect for them.

In an attempt to calm myself down, I pretend that I’m just drawing concept art for them again. I pretend that it’s just a normal day and I’m showing them my art because I know that they’ll love it. That gets me to smile a little. My shoulders relax.

I debate on whether or not I should do shading with my markers. I hesitate for a second, seeing my progress so far. It’s a rose on a stem, but I couldn’t find all of my red markers I needed, so I’m going to make it a blue rose instead. After a moment’s hesitation, I decide to go big or go home. Shading it is.

I start humming to myself, smiling as I draw. I really hope they like this. I’m glad that Jack had this idea. I can see why he was so excited to show his soulmate. It’s completely terrifying, but I’m getting used to the feeling. Now I’m just feeling a bit more hopeful and proud.

My phone starts ringing, making me jump. I curse loudly, nearly drawing a line straight across my arm. Luckily, I lift my arm up enough that I don’t completely screw everything up. I scowl at my phone, debating whether or not to pick it up.

Grumbling, I pick up the phone and put it on speaker, resuming my drawing. “What the hell do you want?” I ask. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my heart down after that mini heart attack.

“What’s got you so on edge?” Rian asks, chuckling. “I was just checking in to see if everything was alright over there.”

I roll my eyes a little, laughing. “You’re such a worried mother, Rian,” I tease. He snorts and I laugh again. “I’m just anxious because I’m showing my soulmate the drawing I’ve been practicing and they’re showing me a surprise too and I’m just really anxious.”

“Wish I was there to see that,” He replies. I chuckle.

“How’s the date going so far?” I ask. Raising my voice a little, I add, “Hi, Zack!”

Rian grumbles some choice words under his breath but Zack laughs and replies, “Hey, Alex.”

“The date is going fine,” Rian says, a little flustered. “After this we’re going to go see a movie.”

I awwww, switching markers. “Dinner and a movie,” I tease. “A la middle school crush style.”

“Oh, shut up,” Zack laughs. “It’s a good idea.”

I laugh. “I’m not judging,” I reply. “Just commenting, that’s all.”

“Can you not embarrass me for _once_?” Rian whines. I laugh.

“Sorry, dude,” I reply. “It’s my job to embarrass you. I’m your best friend.”

“Fuck off.”

I laugh again. “Do you think they’re going to like it?” I ask, switching topics.

“What are you drawing?” Zack asks.

“A blue rose,” I reply. “I couldn’t find all my red markers so I’m going with blue.”

“That’s weird,” He says. “Jack was learning to draw roses too.”

“Really?” I ask, stopping for a second.

“Yeah,” He replies. “He showed me the design he was going to do. It’s really pretty. He was talking about switching his design though.”

“Did he mention a color?” I ask.

“Not that I can remember,” He replies. I shrug.

“Weird coincidence, huh?”

He laughs. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“We should get going,” Rian interrupts. I laugh.

“You don’t want me to tag along on your date?” I joke. “I’d love to know what movie you’re going to.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Rian replies. I laugh again.

“Don’t be rude, Rian.”

“I will be as rude as I want.”

“That’s rude.”

“Fuck off.”

“He does have a point though, Alex,” Zack says. “We should really get going. The movie starts in about a half an hour and we still need to get there and get tickets.”

“Fine,” I reply. I grin. “I still want to know details.”

After a bit of coaxing, we all finally hang up. I shake my head, chuckling to myself. At least talking to them helped me relax. That, and I’m almost done with my drawing anyway.

Once I’ve added the finishing touches, I finally look at my soulmate’s drawing. My eyes widen and my heart beams. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. I can’t stop smiling.

There, on the back of my hand, is a pink rose. Right in the spot I told them I’d always wanted a flower tattoo. They remembered.

_They remembered._

It’s a little bit crooked and the marker has smeared in places but it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. I can tell how hard they tried to make it look nice. Tears start flowing down my cheeks as I admire it. I laugh a little in shock.

After studying the design for a while, I grab my pen and start writing. ‘I can’t believe you remembered. You remembered’

‘So did you,’ They reply. ‘Your rose looks amazing.’

‘Yours too.’

I’m practically bawling my eyes out at this point, and I’m really glad I’m home alone. I don’t need anyone else seeing me like this.

‘I love you so much,’ I write. ‘You have no idea how much this means to me.’

‘I love you too,’ They reply. ‘I’m actually crying.’

‘Same here,’ I reply, laughing a little.

After a moment’s hesitation, I decide I just have to show someone. I take a picture of my arm, including my hand. Then I send it to Zack, Rian, and Jack (all separately, of course). Then I take my time admiring their work. I’ve never been more touched to have someone draw something.

_They remembered._

I get a text back from Jack first. My happiness turns to confusion as I read the message. ‘Meet me at the street corner. Now.’

I’m assuming he means the one he plays at. ‘Why?’ I ask.

‘Just go.’

I try to get more out of him, but he stops responding. Confused, I decide to go where he wants me to. I wonder why he wants me to meet him so badly.

As I’m getting ready to go outside, I admire the work again. The happiness comes back and I can’t stop smiling. I’ve never felt this happy before.

**_They remembered._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back home so I'm gonna get to update again yay


	10. Brown Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My hand slipped (Jack's POV)

My heart is beating loudly in my chest and I can’t stop pacing. My mind is whirling. I can’t stop checking the pictures Alex sent me. I can’t wrap my head around it.

_He’s my soulmate._

I’m still deeply touched that he tried to draw the rose I had wanted. I’m still so happy he loved my drawing. But now there’s this feeling of confusion as well. At the same time, though, it feels like one of my biggest mysteries is solved.

I’m smiling still, making my face hurt. I’m actually really happy Alex is my soulmate. It makes me feel better, since I thought I was developing a crush on him anyway. It makes me feel like my feelings were right for once.

Then, finally, Alex shows up. I stop, staring at him. He continues walking towards me with a confused expression on his face.

“Why did you ask me to meet you here?” He asks. I try to speak, to reply, but I can’t form words.

Instead, I wordlessly stare at him, my heart beating rapidly. I scan his face, absently brushing his bangs out of his face. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, and he probably asks if I’m ok, but I can’t hear him anymore. My blood is roaring too loudly in my ears.

I try again to form words, but all that comes out is a few little noises. He asks again if I’m alright. All I can do is nod my head.

He grabs me by the shoulders, getting me to look at him. I look at his eyes and realize just how pretty they are. I can tell he’s confused, but I don’t really know what to say. I didn’t plan on meeting my soulmate like this. Hell, all of this was literally just on a random whim of mine.

Finally, after probably looking like an idiot for over five minutes, I roll up my sleeve. I show him the drawings, studying his expression. He continues to stare at my face blankly for a few seconds before he glances down at my arm.

At first, he only gives it a passing glance. Then he processes what he saw and his eyes widen. He turns his attention back to my arm. His jaw drops slightly. He grabs my arm, trying to get a better look at my hand and arm. He runs his fingers over my design and then over his own. He glances back at his own arm, comparing the two.

Finally, he looks back up at me. I’m smiling and my heart is glowing. His expression is awed, scanning my face to make sure this isn’t some prank.

Then he starts to smile back. The smile travels to his eyes and I never want him to stop looking at me like that. I’m so giddy with happiness I might scream.

He pulls me into a tight hug, laughing. “I can’t believe this,” He says quietly. I shake my head.

“I can’t either.”

I bounce a little, laughing myself. “You really learned how to draw that for me?” Alex asks quietly. I nod.

“You know damn well I’ve never really been an artist like you,” I reply, laughing breathlessly. “I knew you were mad at yourself and you really wanted that design as a tattoo so as a surprise I wanted to draw it for you.”

I pull away from Alex enough to see his face and he’s crying again. He pulls away fully, taking a pen out of his pocket. He writes on his hand, next to the flower he drew.

‘Found you.’

I grin as I watch the letters appear on my hand. Alex grins too. He hugs me again, holding me close. He lightly presses his lips against my ear and I laugh a little. I could stay like this forever.

After a few moments, I say, “Is it weird I was kind of falling in love with you anyway? Before we realized.”

He laughs. “I think I kind of was too,” He replies. That makes me smile even more, if that’s even possible.

“Should we go back to your place?” I ask quietly. Alex nods, chuckling.

“Definitely.” I grin.

“Will you show me those concepts you’ve been working on since you stopped drawing them for me?” I ask. He laughs, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, fine.” I laugh.

He pulls away, taking my hand instead. I squeeze his hand and he squeezes back. We stay there for a moment, still giddy. Then we head off, starting to talk normally again.

I rest my head against his as we walk. He hums, leaning against me too. I’ve never felt this happy. I just can’t believe I didn’t realize I’d met my soulmate months ago.

Once we finally get to his place, exhaustion starts to take over. I sprinted out of my apartment just to get to the corner, and I had adrenaline on my side for that. Now all of the excitement and adrenaline is wearing off and I’m exhausted.

I kick off my shoes, momentarily letting go of Alex’s hand. “I’m gonna tell Zack I’m here, ok?” Alex nods, smiling.

“I’ll be in my room.”

I grin as he walks off. I quickly take out my phone, texting Zack.

‘Staying with Alex for the night. Don’t get into any trouble with Rian. I have to tell you guys something tomorrow.’

After that, I make my way to what I assume is Alex’s room. He turns to face me, smiling. “Are you tired, too?” He asks, pulling his shirt over his head.

I stare a little, despite already seeing him shirtless countless times before. I nod, though I laugh a little when he snorts at my staring.

“Exhausted.”

He hums, nodding towards my shirt. Getting the message, I pull my shirt over my head, slipping my jeans off too. Alex opens up the blankets and I crawl under them.

He pulls me close to him, wrapping his arms around me. I hum, snuggling close to his chest. He stares at me for a long moment, smiling fondly. We’re both blushing and our eyes are still kind of red from crying. My heart has finally calmed down, though.

After a while, I bury my face in his neck, laughing a little. “I love you,” I mumble against his skin.

I’m scared he didn’t hear me, but then he chuckles quietly and replies, “I love you too.”

I have never fallen asleep happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fear not, this isn't the end of the story. Now it's just gonna be relationship stuff (also sorry if the transitions are a little choppy I didn't know how to fix it without making it worse)


	11. Sweetheart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV

I wake up, narrowing my eyes at my ceiling. My brain is muddy and I don’t understand where there’s someone in bed with me. When I muster the energy, I turn to face the heat.

Jack snores quietly beside me, cuddling my side. He has his arms wrapped around me and his hair is all fluffy. I grin, waking up a little more. Then I remember why he’s here.

I kiss him lightly on the forehead, humming. He stirs a little, shifting. He doesn’t wake up, though. I watch him fondly. Then I gently thread my fingers through his hair, sighing. I stay like this for a while, my heart fuzzy.

Finally, Jack wakes up, blinking sleepily. He lifts his head a little, looking at me. It takes him a moment to process me. Then he smile sleepily.

“Good morning,” He mumbles, rubbing his eyes. I chuckle.

“Morning.” He lightly kisses my cheek.

“I don’t want to get out of bed,” He grumbles, pressing his face into my neck. I smile, humming.

“Alex?” Zack calls, the door opening. I roll my eyes to Jack, who snickers.

“Present!” I call back. He laughs.

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Is Jack here too?” Rian asks. Jack lifts his head, turning it away from my face.

“Present!” He calls. I snicker.

I sit up, rubbing my eyes. Jack sits up too, though he still rests against me. “Where did you guys go?” I ask.

“We went to dinner and then went to the movies,” Zack replies.

“Did you go back to our apartment or did you ever go home?” Jack teases lightly.

The two boys laugh from the other room. “Yeah, we went back,” Zack replies. He snickers. “I don’t think you would have let me stay out all night with some boy.”

Jack laughs. “I wouldn’t have but I would have respected it,” He replies. I give him a half-hearted shove and he laughs again.

“Oh, and Alex,” Rian says, “those designs were so fucking cool. You’ve gotten a lot better.”

Jack and I exchange glances. “Yeah, I was wondering about that,” Zack says. I can practically see him furrowing his eyebrows. “That design on your hand looked a lot like the one that Jack was working on.”

Jack and I snicker. “How long do you think it will take for them to figure it out?” Jack asks quietly.

I shrug. “I’ll give them about five minutes of talking,” I reply. He shrugs.

“Seriously?” Rian asks.

“Yeah,” Zack says. “I mean, it’s not like he came up with a super original design. It’s a pretty simple design. It was a nice design, but it’s not like he created it.”

The longer the two blindly discuss it, the more we both inwardly cringe. I can’t really tell if they’re just joking around because they know about us or if they genuinely don’t know. Either is likely.

“Do they really not get it?” I ask. Jack shrugs.

Finally, I get up out of bed. Jack follows, hugging my arm. I raise an eyebrow at him and he shrugs, resting his head against my shoulder. I shrug, continuing out of my room.

“Are you two done being oblivious fucks?” I ask.

Rian and Zack turn to look at us. Zack raises his eyebrows but Rian doesn’t seem phased. He thinks about it for a moment and then his eyes widen a little.

“Are you fucking serious?” He asks. We both show them our arms.

Dawning appears on Zack’s face. “No fucking way.”

We shrug. “I’m just surprised we never noticed,” Jack says. I nod.

Then he furrows his eyebrows. “Why weren’t you surprised he was with me?” He asks Rian. Rian and I exchange glances.

He gives me an apologetic look and I scowl. I know what he’s thinking. I give him a warning look, shaking my head slightly. ‘Not now, Rian.’ Luckily, Jack and Zack are oblivious to it.

After a moment, he tears his eyes away from mine. He turns back to Jack, who is still waiting for an answer. “I mean, it was a little obvious,” He says, and I know he isn’t entirely lying. “We do kind of have to interact with you guys all the time.”

I silently thank him. Zack nods thoughtfully. “I mean,” He says, “thinking about it, it was kinda obvious.”

Jack laughs. “And yet, you still didn’t know.” This earns him a small shove from the couple.

While Zack and Jack start talking amongst themselves, I pull Rian off to the side. “I’m not ready to tell him about that,” I hiss.

Rian puts his hands up in surrender. “I know you aren’t,” He replies. “That’s why I didn’t say it.” He raises an eyebrow. “That’s also why you made all your social medias private and haven’t told Jack or Zack about them.

I sigh. “Look,” I say, “I’ll have to tell him sooner or later. I can’t just lie about something like that. I just…” I look over at him, chewing on my lip. “I just don’t want to make him feel like he has to own up to something.”

Rian sighs. “I know,” He says. “You’ll tell him soon though, right?”

I shrug. “When I’m ready,” I reply. Rian gives me a look and I put my hands up in surrender. “He still deserves to know. I just don’t want to upset him or anything.”

“Well, you should tell him soon,” He says. “Just because he’s your soulmate doesn’t mean he has to put up with all your bullshit with no consequences.”

“Are we going to go get lunch?” Jack interrupts from the other side of the room. Rian and I jump a little.

I laugh a little. “Yeah, sure,” I reply. “Where do you want to go?”

I don’t miss how Rian casts me a side glance as we’re talking. I don’t miss the look on his face. I try not to look over at him. I know he’s right. I’m just not ready.

I can tell that I’m the first person that Jack has dated. It’s in the way he talks and the way he acts around me. I think he may have mentioned it once or twice. The longer this goes on, the more Rian keeps giving me that look. Even just sitting through lunch, I can’t avoid it.

I know I should tell Jack. I know it’s not entirely that a big deal, but to a lot of people, it is. They make it out to be this huge thing when it’s basically nothing at all. I know I’m going to tell Jack. I just don’t know when. How do I even tell him?

I just wish Rian would stop looking at me like that.


	12. Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's POV

It doesn’t quite feel like we’re dating yet. I mean, we hold hands, and we cuddle. We kiss each other on the cheek and occasionally we call each other a pet name. But really, things are going aggravatingly slow. It’s like nothing big really changed. We haven’t gone on a date yet, and we haven’t kissed yet. There are plenty of other things we haven’t done, sure, but I’m starting simple.

Alex seems hesitant on it. I know he feels bad about taking things so slow, but I don’t entirely mind. I can’t force anything. He’s holding something back, but I can’t tell what. I think he’s just scared of going fast. I can see why.

I’ve never dated anyone before. That type of stuff is frowned upon. I mean, if they’re not your soulmate, why do you bother? The only exceptions are people whose soulmates have died or something, because then, maybe you could become their soulmate. It’s rare, but it happens.

I don’t know what to do. Do I have to ask Alex, or is that going to fast? I don’t even really know how to go on a date. Knowing us, it probably won’t even feel like a date. It’ll just feel like us hanging out like we usually do.

Same with the kissing thing. Do I initiate, or do I wait for him to make the move?

We’ve been together for two weeks now. Everything feels normal. While I’m glad there’s no tension and awkwardness, I still don’t think we’re fully in a relationship. I mean, we barely act like it.

Alex glances up from his laptop. “You alright?” He asks. I snap my head towards him, blinking in surprise.

I nod, smiling a little. “I’m just thinking,” I reply. He chuckles a little.

“Didn’t know you were capable,” He teases lightly, going back to his work. I pout.

I whine, trying to get his attention again. He smiles, giggling a little, but he doesn’t look away from his laptop. I move, sitting beside him. He gives me a quick side glance before continuing what he was doing.

Finally, I decide to just lie across his lap. He grunts, lightly trying to push me away. “What the hell are you doing?” He asks.

I laugh. “You’re comfortable,” I reply, kissing his chest. He hums.

“You’re fucking weird.”

I laugh again. “You love me anyway.”

He grins. “Hell yeah, I do.” In spite of myself, I blush.

After a few minutes of weakly trying to shove me off of him, he gives up. He sighs, closing his laptop and putting it away. He starts threading his fingers through my hair, smiling a little.

“This is what you wanted, I assume?” He asks. I laugh.

“Sorta?”

He furrows his eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shrug. Without thinking, I blurt out, “I kinda wanted you to kiss me.”

He blinks, startled. My cheeks heat up. “I don’t know why I said that,” I mumble, sitting up. “Sorry.”

After Alex collects himself, he laughs a little. “Why are you sorry?” He asks. “It’s not weird to ask your fucking boyfriend to kiss you.”

I fold my arms, quietly mumbling, “Yeah, well, we don’t act like we’re dating.”

He frowns. He puts an arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I sigh, letting him. I rest my head on his shoulder, arms still crossed.

“Are we going too slow?” He asks quietly. I sigh again.

“Kind of,” I reply. I shrug. “I just don’t want to force you to move too fast.”

He chews on his lip. “I just didn’t know what you were ok with,” He says. The way he says it gets me curious. He says it slowly, cautiously. As if he’s really thinking about what he says. “I mean, this is your first relationship.”

I turn to him, furrowing my eyebrows. “Isn’t this your first relationship too?”

He chews on his lip, and he seems to visibly tense at that. I stare at him blankly, not understanding. He looks nervous.

After a moment, he looks away, almost guiltily. “No.”

I’m not sure I heard him right. “No?” I ask. He won’t meet my eyes.

He sighs, putting his face in his hands. “No,” He repeats. “This… god, ok.” He hesitates. “This is my second relationship.”

I furrow my eyebrows. “How is that possible?” I ask. “Did you somehow switch soulmates?”

The minute I ask the question, the answer dawns on me. I’ve always been his soulmate. He never switched. _He dated someone who he knew damn well wasn’t his soulmate._

Alex looks up, chewing on his lip. He smiles apologetically, sheepishly. “I didn’t know when to tell you,” He says. He scratches the back of his neck. “I mean, how do you even tell someone that?”

“Why?” I ask. “Why would you do that?”

He sighs. He’s silent for a very long time and I start to get frustrated. Finally, just as I’m about to chew him out for it, he says, “I was scared.”

The anger is replaced with confusion. I furrow my eyebrows, cocking my head to the side. He shifts uncomfortably. “I was scared because I realized that if I only dated my soulmate, I’d have no idea how to handle a relationship. The idea terrified me.”

He takes a deep breath. “So, I went out with someone who had the same fear.”

He pauses, glancing over at me. I don’t respond. I don’t know how to. He continues cautiously. “Her name was Lisa. We had gone to high school together, and I had kind of developed a crush on her. She liked me too, but we both figured out pretty early we weren’t soulmates.”

“She told me about her fear and I was just thankful I wasn’t the only one. So we made an agreement. We’d date each other for practice, just so we weren’t completely blindsided by relationship problems when we started dating our soulmates.”

He shifts again. “I got caught up in it. I posted pictures of her on social media because I wanted to show her off. I was proud of us. We did actually love each other, even though we knew it wouldn’t be forever. Then it kind of got out that we weren’t soulmates, and everything turned sour. Everyone started cursing at us and I had a ton of people get mad. I made my account private and blocked every person who hated it. I have barely given anyone permission to follow me since.”

“When was this?” I ask quietly. He sighs.

“We broke up freshman year of college, so I’d say about four years ago.”

I nod slowly, trying to process on this. I’m angry that he never told me this before, but I’m also sad, because I know why he didn’t tell me. I’m also jealous of this Lisa girl, but yet, I know I don’t have to worry about it. I don’t know how to feel.

So, I do what I need to. “Tell me more about her.”


	13. Lisa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV (a little backstory kinda not much)

My throat feels dry. My hands are starting to shake. I can’t completely gauge Jack’s reaction. I wasn’t ready to tell him this stuff, but I can’t just lie to him. That wouldn’t be fair to him.

I take a deep breath. “She was pretty,” I start. “She was nice, supportive too. She always supported my music, even when I closed it off to most people. She was really supportive of my art too.”

I smile a little. “She was amazing. She liked traveling, so we took a lot of pictures together. We go to the same university, but she’s in contact with her soulmate. They have to do long distance because he lives in South Korea.”

He blinks a little in surprise at that. “Isn’t there a language barrier?” He asks. I shrug.

“He speaks pretty good English, and she’s learning Korean.”

He nods slowly. I take that as my signal to continue. “She was a good listener. She liked telling stories. I loved her stories. She had a way with words that I didn’t.”

I don’t know what else to say. I don’t want to overshare and make Jack feel insecure. He waits in silence for a little while before he realizes I’m done talking.

“Are you two still friends?” He asks. I nod.

“We don’t talk as much anymore, but yeah. We’re still friends. The breakup was mutual.” He nods again.

We sit in silence for a long moment. I wish I could kill the tension in the room. I can tell he’s upset, and I feel guilty about it. I know he hasn’t dated anyone else besides me. It’s tearing me up inside.

Finally, after what feels like hours, Jack asks, “Was it worth it?”

I think about the question for a second. After a moment’s hesitation, I reply, “Yes. It got me the practice I needed and I did care for her a lot. I still do, but not in the same way, you know?”

He nods quietly. I sigh, pulling him into a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” I say. “I just… I didn’t want you to feel insecure about it. It was my decision, and I can’t take it back. It doesn’t change how I feel about you and it doesn’t change the fact that we’re soulmates.”

He doesn’t respond for a long time. He just stays in my arms silently. I continue to hold him, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

Finally, he says, “I’m glad you told me.”

I stare at him. “Really?”

He nods, smiling weakly. “You could have lied about it,” He says. “You could have just hidden it from me and just pretended that I was your first.”

“I mean,” I say, “you are gonna be some of my firsts.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Like what?”

I shrug. “First boyfriend, for starters. First kiss with a boy. First date with a boy.” I hesitate. “First time fucking anyone…” I grin. “And my first and only relationship with a soulmate because there’s only one.”

He blinks. “Did I hear you correctly there?” He asks.

I try not to snicker. “Which part?” I ask innocently.

“The fucking part,” He says.

“Ok, but which fucking part? There’s no need for swearing.”

He rolls his eyes, laughing. He shoves me a little. “I mean the part about you being a virgin, asshole,” He says.

I shrug. I know I’m blushing but I try not to pay attention to it. “I figured I’d save a few things for my soulmate,” I reply. “Figured maybe it would make up for them not being my first for everything.”

He snorts. “I’ll have fun with that,” He teases. I roll my eyes and he laughs.

“Oh, come on. You’re a virgin too, asshole.” He laughs, harder this time. I laugh a little myself. Then the smile fades from my face.

“Are you cool with it?” I ask slowly. He hesitates for a moment, but then he nods.

“I’ll have to get used to the idea but yeah,” He replies. “You can’t change the past. Besides, I kind of understand why you did it.”

He gives me a lopsided grin. “That, and I’m really glad you trusted me.”

I return his grin. “I love you.”

Jack laughs a little. “I love you too, asshole.”

I laugh with him and something pushes me to do it. Once he stops laughing, I lean in and press my lips against his. He squeaks in surprise, and I can feel his cheeks heat up. My eyes flutter closed and god, I’ve wanted to do this for so long.

Jack slowly melts into it, though he takes a moment to catch on. I slowly move my lips against his, humming. I brush my fingers over his cheek.

After a moment, we pull away. Jack still has his eyes closed and I can’t stop smiling. He sits there in shock for a minute. Then he starts to grin too, opening his eyes. He meets my eyes and I wish he’d always look at me like that.

“Was that ok?” I ask quietly. He nods.

“More than ok,” He replies just as quietly. I chew on my lip, still smiling.

“Can I do it again?”

“Yes.”

I kiss him again and this time he’s more confident. I hold him close and he hums. I can feel him smiling against my lips. I can’t help but smile too.

When we pull away, Jack laughs breathlessly. “You should do that more often.”

I laugh. “I’ll make a note of that,” I reply. He rolls his eyes and I laugh again. I peck his lips gently.

After a moment of silence, Jack teases, “Does this mean I can finally follow you on social media now?”

I roll my eyes. “Is that all you care about?” I joke back. He laughs.

“I need more followers.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

He laughs again. I sigh, shaking my head fondly. “Yes, you can follow me now, asshole.” Then I hesitate. “Are you sure you don’t mind the pictures I’ve left on there?”

His smile falters a little, but he shrugs nonetheless. “I’ll accept it,” He replies. “It’s not like she’s doing anything wrong.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. He nods.

“I’m sure, Lex.” I breathe a sigh of relief, smiling.

He snorts. “Besides,” He says, “I’d love to meet this Lisa. I mean, if you liked her, she must be at least a little bit cool.”

I smack him on the arm, laughing. “She is cool, I promise,” I reply.

Jack pecks my lips again. “Are we going to play video games now?” He asks. I nod, grinning.

“Hell yeah.”

He laughs. “That was a rollercoaster.”

I snort. “Well, it’s over now, and you made it out alive.”

He rolls his eyes, smacking me playfully. “Shut up and kiss me, idiot.”

“That’s really cliché, you know.”

“I think the universe is dicking with me and you’re not my real soulmate.”

I fake an offended gasp. “How dare you?”

He laughs, rolling his eyes. I grin. I lightly kiss him again and he chuckles. “I love you.”

“I love you too, idiot.”


	14. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's POV

“We really don’t have to do much, you know,” I say, putting my jacket on.

Alex shrugs. “I didn’t want to just not try,” He replies. He snorts. “Besides, I consider going to a café and then the park pretty minimal effort.”

I laugh. “I’m already your soulmate, and I love you,” I point out. “You don’t have to try that hard.”

He wraps his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek. “Just because you’re already my soulmate doesn’t mean I don’t need to try,” He replies. “It just means I don’t have to worry that you’re not really in love with me.”

I chuckle. “Are we going to get going?” I tease lightly. He rolls his eyes, laughing.

“Yeah, sure.”

Considering it’s the café we usually head to (and the one near where I usually perform), we just walk there. It’s a bit of a ways away, but it’s tolerable. Alex holds my hand the whole time and we chat on the way. I can’t stop smiling. I’m definitely still very much in the honeymoon phase.

Once we get there, Alex pulls me over to a booth. When I start to slide into the seat opposite him, he shakes his head, frowning. I stop, cocking my head to the side in confusion. He tugs on my hand and pulls me into the other seat.

Then, to my surprise, he slides into the seat with me, making me move closer to the wall. I raise an eyebrow. He shrugs, putting an arm around me.

“I wanted to sit by you,” He says simply. He smiles and I smile back, laughing a little. I shake my head.

“Clingy,” I tease. He rolls his eyes, giving me a small shove. I laugh again.

While we’re eating, we don’t talk to terribly much. Alex tries to keep his arm around me as much as possible, and I rest my head on his shoulder. It’s a comfortable silence, and honestly, I don’t know what to say right now anyway.

“How are your concepts going?” I ask. “I know you have to turn them in tomorrow.”

Alex’s smile fades. He stops eating for a second, glancing over at me. He sighs, putting down his fork. “It’s alright, I guess,” He replies slowly. He shrugs. “I still feel like they’re missing something, but I might just be going too hard on myself.”

I think for a moment. I go back to my food, shrugging. “Maybe you could add a rose to the cover,” I suggest absently.

Alex freezes. I glance over at him, narrowing my eyes. He turns to me with wide eyes.

“That might work,” He says. “That might work, actually.” He grins brightly, pulling me into a hug. “That’s a great idea!”

I grin, laughing a little in surprise. I didn’t think he would react like that to the suggestion. It was mostly just something so I could help him out a little bit.

He pulls away, thinking for a second. “Maybe your design would be better,” He muses. “It might fit into the concept a bit better.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You want me to draw my design on your concept?” I ask skeptically. He nods.

“It’ll look better if you do.” He looks at me expectantly and I’m surprised.

“I’m not an artist like you are,” I say. “I can’t really draw all that much very well.”

He chuckles. “You managed to draw a pretty damn good rose,” He points out. He gives me a small nudge, smiling. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

I sigh, smiling a little. “Would it make you happy if I say yes?” He nods and I laugh. I shrug. “What do I have to lose?”

He smiles excitedly and pulls me into another hug. “Thank you!”

Once we’re done at the café, we head to the park. I try to convince Alex that it isn’t necessary, and I’m pretty damn easy to impress, but he insists. So ensues the stereotypical, handholding stroll in the park. Except everything is loud because we’re in the city and we get called faggots roughly 3 times in 10 minutes.

Fun.

When we’re finally left alone, Alex laughs a little. “This date is obviously going perfectly,” He says sarcastically. I laugh.

“Obviously,” I reply, just as sarcastically. He laughs too.

I glance at the trees, getting an idea. I drag Alex over to them, and he quickly realizes what I want to do. “Are you actually serious?”

I snort. “Hell yeah,” I reply, starting to climb a tree. “You coming?”

I glance back and he rolls his eyes. He folds his arms, laughing. “You are actually a child.”

I grin. “You love me anyway,” I joke back. “Now get your ass up here with me.”

He laughs. After a moment’s hesitation, he does actually follow me up the tree. Luckily it can support both of us on one branch, though I don’t know how long. I don’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out.

Alex rolls his eyes at me again, giving me a small shove. “Why did you want to come up here?” He asks.

I shrug, swinging my legs. “Because,” I reply simply. “I wanted to.”

He sighs. I can tell he doesn’t mind though. He takes my hand in his and I squeeze his hand gently. I chuckle.

We sit there for a while, occasionally chatting. It’s a nice break from walking. Some people give us weird looks from the ground but luckily we don’t get yelled at anymore. That’s an even better break.

I stare at Alex, humming to myself. He’s not paying attention to me; he’s looking at the leaves and the occasional squirrel getting freaked out by us being up here. He keeps laughing, his face lighting up. It’s a pretty thing to see.

I still can’t get over how pretty he is. He always jokes that he’s not as attractive as the rest of us, especially Rian, but that isn’t true. He doesn’t look like Rian, no doubt. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t attractive.

My favorite thing about him is his eyes. He says they’re boring (but mine aren’t because ‘they’re your eyes and besides, they’re a different shade of brown than mine’) but they’re honestly not. Like, everyone talks about blue and green eyes. Those are great. But brown eyes are really underrated.

After a while, Alex finally catches onto my staring. He smiles slightly, chuckling. “Something wrong?” He asks lightly. I shake my head, smiling.

“Nothing at all,” I reply. He blushes a little, chuckling again.

After a moment’s hesitation, I lean forward and kiss him. It’s gentle, gentler than I expected. He hums, moving closer. He brushes his fingers across my cheek. I rest a hand on his knee.

The kiss is longer than our other ones have been. Hesitantly, Alex kisses a little more insistently, pushing himself closer. I hum in response. I could stay here forever.

When we do finally pull away, our breathing is a little uneven. He chuckles quietly. “That was actually kind of romantic.”

I laugh silently. “I can be at times,” I tease. He rolls his eyes, but doesn’t protest.

God I fucking love him.


	15. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV (sorry if the plot is a little sporadic I just want to move it along)

“How long have we been dating now?” Jack asks teasingly. I roll my eyes, chuckling.

“I have a paper to work on, Jack.”

He hums, resting his head on my shoulder. He cuddles my arm, practically making it impossible for me to work any farther. I try to shrug him off, whining quietly.

“Jack, come on.”

He laughs. “How long have we been dating now?” He asks again. I roll my eyes again.

I sigh, smiling. “We’ve been dating for almost six months.”

He nods, grinning. He kisses my cheek. “Correct.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Can I go back to my work now?” He shakes his head, hugging me more.

“What do you mean, no?”

He chuckles. “Because I don’t want to be ignored,” He replies. I laugh, shaking my head. I weakly try to push him off, but he won’t move.

“Attention whore,” I tease, making him laugh.

“You know it.”

I laugh again. “Why the hell am I dating you?” I murmur fondly. He hums.

“Because I’m amazing and you love me,” He replies cheekily. I sigh, shaking my head. I kiss the side of his head.

“Hell yeah.”

He laughs a little at that. We sit there for a while, not really saying anything. I keep my laptop open, even though I can’t really work on anything. We stay in comfortable silence, just enjoying the other’s company.

After a few minutes of this, I get a sudden urge. Hesitantly, I start going into my documents. Jack whines quietly, trying to make me stop.

“You’ll see what I’m doing,” I tell him. My voice sounds strange. It’s not quite panicked, but it’s rushed. It’s quiet.

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, staring at my screen. I go into an old folder on my computer; one that hasn’t been touched in years except for the passing glance. However, when I get there, I hesitate. Fear grips me and I remember why I didn’t do this before.

Jack reads the title of the folder. His eyes widen and he turns to me. “Are you sure?” He asks.

I swallow down my fear, nodding. “I trust you,” I reply, almost breathless. “I trust you.”

I force myself to click on the folder, and all the old files pop up. All the old songs that haven’t been touched in years. This is music from high school, mostly from sophomore year. My college songs are in a different folder, but that’s more of what I’ve shown the band. The last person I showed these songs to was Lisa.

I move away from my laptop, handing it to Jack. He stops holding my arm, taking the laptop. He stares at the screen, scrolling through the list of documents. Then he looks at me, his expression hard to read.

“You trust me with this?” He asks.

I give him a lopsided grin. “Sure,” I reply. “Just don’t fuck them up, ok?”

He chuckles, nodding. “Understood.”

I chew on my lip anxiously as he starts clicking through songs, reading the lyrics. Except for the occasional praise for lyrics, he doesn’t really speak. I watch him carefully, making sure he won’t do anything.

Despite not showing these songs off in a while, I still care about them deeply. I would be crushed if they got fucked up.

After a long time, Jack hands me the laptop back. I furrow my eyebrows. “Aren’t you going to read them all?” I ask him.

He laughs a little. “Do you want me to?” He asks gently. I shrug, blushing a little.

“I don’t know.”

He smiles. “I figured I’d leave some of them just for you,” He replies. “Maybe another time.”

I nod slowly. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, I ask the question I’m almost dreading to know the answer to.

“So, what did you think?”

Jack doesn’t respond at first. He seems to study my expression, which makes me nervous. I almost start rambling in panic but then he finally starts to speak. He grins.

“I loved them, are you kidding?”

I blink in surprise. “Really?” I ask, not hiding my shock. He laughs, nodding.

“Sure, they could use a little revision,” He says, “but other than that, hell yeah, they’re amazing.”

I smile, blushing at the praise. Still, I look away and mumble, “You’re just saying that.”

He lifts up my chin so I’m looking at him again. “I’m really not,” He says. “And dammit Alex, you’re a liar when you say you don’t have a way with words sometimes.”

I shift. “I really don’t,” I say. “I’m an artist. I’m better at drawing things than describing them.”

He shakes his head. “Maybe you’re better but that doesn’t mean you’re shit with words,” He protests.

I shrug. “They’re just rambling,” I mumble. “They’re probably not anything worth producing.”

He grabs my shoulders, startling me a little. “They need a little work,” He admits, “but, honestly, they’re really not that bad, Lex.”

“I wrote them in high school,” I protest. “How can they be any good? They’re not even well written.”

Jack rolls his eyes. “Look,” He says, “not every song has to have as many metaphors as old Fall Out Boy, alright? Besides, have you heard music lately? Songs can be amazing without the lyrics being so obscure you have no idea what they mean.”

“I still wrote them in high school,” I point out. He shrugs.

“So?” He replies. “So what? They’re still great. You’ve just gotten better.”

I blush again. I start to protest again, but Jack pulls me into a tight hug. “No,” He says. “You’re not going to keep putting yourself and your music down.”

“Why not?” I mumble.

“Because your music deserves better than that and so do you,” He replies. “Look, maybe you are better at creating pictures better than using your words. Maybe you’re a better artist than a lyricist. _That doesn’t mean you’re shitty at writing._ It just means it isn’t your best skill.”

“Why do you care so much?” I ask. He’s silent for a moment.

“Because I love you and I hate seeing you beat yourself up about everything you do because you think you’re never good enough. When you’re more than enough.”

I try to swallow the lump in my throat. He sighs. “Look,” He says, “I’m not the best at a lot of things either. Every time I say that, though, I get people telling me that I’m wrong and I’m being too hard on myself. That’s happening to you too.”

I can’t find the words to respond with. That proves my point enough. I can never find the right words. I’m never good enough at what I do.

After a moment of silence, he says quietly, “Lex, I’m not lying to you. I fucking love your music, and I wish you did, too. You’re one of the best artists I know, and I wish you believed that too. While always wanting to improve is a good thing, wanting to improve shouldn’t mean you hate every piece of art you put out.”

I laugh half-heartedly. “Easier said than done,” I mumble dejectedly.

He sets his jaw. “Then I’ll prove it to you.”

I stare at him. He nods firmly. “I’m going to convince you that you are a good musician and a good artist. I’m not going to let you always talk down on your work.”

I sigh. “Jack-”

“I mean it,” He cuts me off. “You deserve to love your work every once in a while.”

My bottom lip quivers. Tears threaten my eyes. I hug him tightly. As much as I try to fight them, silent tears start streaming down my cheeks.

“Thank you,” I say, barely getting the words out. He chuckles, rubbing my back soothingly.

“Anything for you. I mean it.”


	16. All Time Low

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story is probably going to shit but idk sorry. Also, this chapter is based on the information i've found about All Time Low's band name so sorry if it's inaccurate? I just felt like getting that detail right

“We still don’t have a name,” Zack muses one night at practice. Rian snorts.

“How have we been a band for over 6 months and not have a band name?” He asks. We laugh a little.

“I honestly don’t know,” I joke. “Maybe it’s because we’re fucking idiots who can’t think of a band name to save their lives.”

Rian gives me a small shove. “I hope that statement includes you,” He jokes back. I laugh, shoving him.

“I’m a part of the band, aren’t I?”

We don’t talk much more about the subject for most of the rest of band practice. We dick around for a while, admittedly, but then we actually get to practicing our own stuff. Jack has (gently) been trying to get me to open up about my old songs to the group. I’ve opened up about one so far, but even that was a challenge.

About halfway through practice, Rian says, “I kinda want to do covers for a little while.”

None of us protest the idea. We throw around a few songs, seeing what we want to cover. While we’re talking, something flickers in Jack’s eyes. “Do you guys remember the song ‘Head On Collision’? By New Found Glory?”

My eyes widen slightly. Rian whistles. “Going back a little ways,” Rian says. “I remember it though.”

“Do we even remember how to play it?” I laugh. Rian shrugs, laughing a little himself.

“Possibly.”

Once we’ve bounced around a few more songs, we decide to actually start playing. It takes me a minute to remember how to play Head On Collision, but eventually I get it. We have a pretty good time with the songs, even if we aren’t always trying to make them sound accurate.

I’m finally starting to get really comfortable with the band. It took me a little while, since I haven’t really pursued music like this in a while. It really takes me back. It also makes me extremely happy. I didn’t realize just how much I missed music like this.

I fuck up the words to Head On Collision, but we just laugh it off. There’s no audience, so it doesn’t entirely matter. We can dick around all we want.

Once we’ve gotten bored with that, we decide to order some food. Who cares that it’s 10PM and we’ll probably need food again at 3? I mean, come on. Would you give up a chance to get pizza?

Jack starts humming Head On Collision, smiling when he realizes I caught him. I smile back, chuckling. I hum with him, putting an arm around him. He rests his head on my shoulder.

About ten minutes later, the pizza arrives. Zack gets the door because he always acts like a gentleman. It actually gets on Rian’s nerves sometimes, but I know he doesn’t entirely mind. Better the guy act like a gentleman than an asshole.

Just as Zack is shutting the door, Jack’s eyes light up. He sits up straighter, his eyes widening. He stops humming, turning to me.

“All Time Low.”

I stare at him, confused. Rian and Zack turn their attention as well, equally confused. Jack sighs in mild exasperation.

“’…and it feels like I'm at an all-time low, slightly bruised and broken from our head on collision…’”

I nod slowly, narrowing my eyes. “Ok?” I say, still confused. “What about it?”

Jack rolls his eyes. “Don’t you get it?” He asks, turning to us. We shake our heads, exchanging looks. He sighs again. “Come on! That would be an amazing band name.”

Rian smiles dryly. “That’s a pretty long band name,” He jokes. Jack rolls his eyes again, though he does smile a little.

“I _meant,_ ” Jack clarifies, “that All Time Low would be an amazing name for a band.”

I think about it for a moment. “It does sound good,” I agree. Jack grins.

Zack laughs a little. “That’s better than the previous names we’ve come up with,” He points out. Rian nods.

Jack grins. “Are we all in favor of the band name All Time Low?” He asks. We all look at each other, starting to grin.

I chuckle. “So,” I say, “I guess we’re All Time Low now.”

Rian nods. “Thank god we finally found something,” He jokes. “I was scared we were just going to have to go onstage and say we’re Untitled.”

Jack snorts. “I vote for that band name,” I joke back. Jack nudges me, glaring playfully at me. I laugh.

“Relax, I like the name All Time Low.”

He grins. He rests his head on my shoulder again. “I want food now.” We all blink, just remembering the pizza again.

I teasingly shove Jack. “I can’t believe you distracted me from food,” I tease. “How dare you.”

He laughs, taking a slice. “Sorry, babe,” He jokes back. “Won’t happen again.”

I hum, taking a bite. “Better not.” He laughs again.

We mostly chat for the rest of practice, idly playing our instruments. We talk about school, just because it’s a subject we can all relate to. College isn’t necessarily the most fun experience of your life. It has its highs; it has its lows.

Then, obviously, the topic moves to music and random shit we find on the internet. This is how we usually end band practice. We just chat and laugh at random shit until we have to head home. We usually practice at Zack and Jack’s place, just because their neighbors are more forgiving about the music.

“A lot can change in a year, huh?” Jack comments. I turn to him, humming.

“We’ve known each other for like, nine months.” He rolls his eyes, laughing.

“That’s still almost a year, you dick.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “I guess so,” I reply. I think about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess a lot has changed.”

He smiles a little. He cuddles my side, shifting to make himself comfortable. I smile at him, pressing a kiss on the side of his head.

It’s been a pretty damn good year, if you ask me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 quick questions.
> 
> 1) should i occasionally put Zack and Rian's POV (just to show a bit more of their relationship and their side of the story)
> 
> 2) should there be smut in this book
> 
> bc idk nor do i care i just want to know what you guys think?


	17. Poppin Champagne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's POV (NSFW) ((If you don't like smut you can skip this chapter))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright listen. I've been putting this off for a while (sorry) and I've rewritten this so many times. It still feels kinda awkward to me, but I tried my best. I'm still experimenting. Sorry if it's shit. If you have any tips for writing smut in the future comment please.

We stumble in to my apartment, laughing a little. I swore that we wouldn’t get wine drunk (meetings, ya know?), so instead we ended up getting a little drunk on champagne. That’s obviously better. It’s nothing huge; just a little stumble in my walk.

Just a little tipsy, that’s all.

Once the door closes, Alex presses his lips against mine. He mumbles something against my lips, but I can’t tell what. I kiss him back, still laughing a little. I tangle my fingers in his hair, humming. He pulls me closer by the waist.

“Love you,” Alex mumbles, moving his lips to my neck. I hum, tilting my head.

“Love you, too.”

His kisses are a little sloppy, but I don’t mind. I just hold him closer. I ghost my fingers under his shirt, brushing my fingers over his skin. He hums in response.

He pulls away from my neck, taking my hand. He walks backward until he nearly trips over the couch. He laughs loudly, making me laugh as well. He flashes one of my favorite smiles and I just have to kiss him.

We start kissing slowly again. I climb onto Alex’s lap and he wraps his arms around my waist again. He bites my lower lip, making me moan quietly. He slots his tongue into my mouth, humming. I sigh into his mouth, smiling a little.

I tug on his shirt, trying to pull it up a little. Alex pulls away enough for me to slip it over his head. While he’s at it, he slips mine off too. When we kiss again, I start slowly rocking my hips, groaning softly. Alex’s moves in response, tightening his grip on my waist.

After a moment, I disconnect our lips, kissing his neck instead. I kiss slowly at first, biting gently. Alex sighs, his head falling back a little. Then I start to get a bit rougher, sucking harsher marks onto his skin. He groans.

He trails his fingers down my back, stopping at my belt. He moans softly. I pull away from his neck, sighing. He kisses me again, harder this time. I groan against his lips.

After a while, Alex pulls away, motioning for me to get up. He mutters something I can’t hear, but I can guess. He takes my hand again and we stumble towards my bedroom. Alex accidentally knocks into the door, not realizing it was fully closed.

We both laugh. Alex rolls his shoulder a little, shaking his head. He opens the door, pulling me inside. As the door closes, he pushes me up against it, smashing his lips onto mine. I groan, tangling my fingers in his hair.

He slides a hand down my chest, the other gripping my hip tightly. He starts palming me though my jeans, making me moan into his mouth. After a minute, he undoes my belt and I slip my jeans off, kicking them away.

We make out for a little while longer, my back pressed against the door. Then we make our way to the bed, Alex climbing on top of me. I undo his belt before he has a chance to kiss me again. It takes him a bit of effort, but he manages to get his jeans fully off. I laugh a little.

He playfully glares at me before kissing me again. I sigh, leaning into his touch. He grinds down on me, making me groan. My head starts getting a little dizzy, though I’m not entirely sure why. I tug slightly on his hair.

He seems to get a bit more impatient, tapping a few times on my boxers, silently asking me if he can take them off. I hesitate slightly, but then I nod, tugging them a little myself. I lift my hips so he can slip them off. I shiver a little at the cold.

Alex pulls away, panting slightly. I smile up at him. He smiles back, chewing on his lip. He looks me over, making me blush a little. I squirm. I’ve never gotten to this point with someone before. We’ve made out a few times, but we never quite got here.

He presses a few kisses on my neck before slowly making his way down, kissing down my collarbone and chest. I lean into the touch, humming. My eyes flutter shut. He makes his way down to my hips, taking his time there. I chew on my bottom lip, my breath hitching.

Getting a bit rougher, he kisses the insides of my thighs, making me whine softly. I squirm. He chuckles a little before pulling away. I whine, almost opening my eyes, but then he starts kitten licking my dick. I gasp slightly, shifting a little.

Cautiously, he takes the head into his mouth, sucking. I groan quietly. He hums, the vibrations making me shiver a little. He starts bobbing his head, making me moan. I chew on my lip again, squirming a little.

After a little bit, he pulls off. I whine at the loss, opening my eyes. He smiles slightly before pressing his lips against mine. I hum, kissing him back. When he pulls away, he nods towards the bedside table. I snort.

“You already know where it is,” I tease. “We’ve been over this.”

Alex snorts, rolling his eyes. He opens the drawer, taking out the lube. “You really know how to kill the moment, huh?”

I laugh quietly. “You still want to,” I say, though it’s almost a question. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“Fair point.”

He puts a generous amount of lube on his fingers, pushing my legs open a bit more. He raises an eyebrow and I nod, shifting. I’m a bit nervous, but I want to go through with it this time.

He smiles slightly before pushing a finger into me. I hum, shifting a little in discomfort. Once I get used to it, though, I moan, chewing on my lip. My eyes flutter shut again.

With my ok, he adds his second finger. I thrust against his fingers, groaning. He goes a bit rougher, trying to loosen me up more. I bite back a moan. He adds a third after a little while, groaning a little himself.

Then he takes his fingers out, making me whimper. He chuckles a little, popping open the lube again. I open my eyes again just as he finished lubing himself up. He lines himself up, looking at me.

“Are you sure?” He asks quietly. I start to nod, but I hesitate. I want to, but I’m also kind of scared. I haven’t done this before.

His eyes soften. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” He says. I smile slightly, nodding.

“I want to,” I say. “I’m sure.”

He studies me for a moment before he nods. Hesitantly, he slowly pushes into me and I gasp slightly. I start squirming, whining. I’m not used to the feeling, but it is pleasurable. He groans softly. Once he bottoms out, he stays there for a moment. I let myself adjust, shifting.

Then he starts thrusting into me, slowly at first. I moan, biting my lip. He presses his lips against mine, running a free hand through my hair. I sigh. I roll my hips with him, groaning.

He gets a bit rougher, shifting a bit to try and hit a bit deeper. I moan into his mouth. I grip his shoulders tightly. He groans, tugging on my hair.

Then he disconnects our lips, panting. He curses quietly. He starts speeding up again, but it starts to hurt. Not a good kind of hurt, either. I don’t like it. I shake my head, whimpering. I shake his shoulder, getting him to open his eyes. I shake my head again, murmuring, “Slower.”

He nods, slowing down again. He smiles slightly and so do I. He pecks my lips quickly. I groan, letting my eyes flutter shut again. I curse.

I can feel the knot forming in my chest. I bite down hard on my lip, whimpering. I manage to give him a weak warning. I’m not quite sure he heard me until he starts quietly coaxing me. My breathing gets more rapid and my back starts to arch.

I moan loudly, squeezing my eyes shut. I grip his shoulders tightly. I release, shuddering. Alex groans, close himself. I start to whimper as he continues thrusting into me. My mind is spinning.

Soon enough, Alex cums, cursing loudly. His thrusts become sloppy and a bit erratic. He rides out his high before slowing to a stop, panting. I slowly open my eyes, starting to grin. After a moment, he opens his eyes too. He mirrors my smile, still trying to catch his breath.

He presses his lips gently against mine as he pulls out. He tries to do it as gently as possible, but I still wince. He pulls away a little, still resting his forehead on mine. We stay there for a while, trying to calm ourselves down.

Then, I laugh softly. “I could get used to that,” I mumble. Alex laughs a little too.

When I open my eyes, however, Alex seems a little sad. I raise an eyebrow and he shrugs, glancing away.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” He says quietly. I sigh, smiling a little.

“I know you didn’t,” I assure him, brushing a little hair out of his face. “And you slowed down when I asked you to. Trust me, I’m fine.” I peck his lips. “That was still amazing.”

He smiles, his face flushed. After a moment, he agrees, “It really was.”

Though I really don’t want to move, I gently push Alex off of me, getting up. My eyelids are heavy and I really just want to sleep. Still, I get up, stumbling. When Alex makes a questioning noise behind me, I laugh. “I’m getting a washcloth and a glass of water,” I explain over my shoulder. “Need anything?”

He laughs. “Nah, that sounds good.” He replies. “Just don’t pass out on the couch.” Then, much more quietly, he adds, “I don’t want to sleep alone.”

I smile slightly. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back. You don’t have to sleep alone.”

 

His only response is soft laughter I can barely hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: i enjoy writing foreplay a little too much lmao. But it's important. So is aftercare but this chapter was getting really long so I didn't go into detail about it.
> 
> Also, I think this fic may be coming to an end soon. I'm still really busy with school stuff, but honestly, I think this may only have a few more chapters left. We'll see though. Hope you guys are enjoying it.


	18. Muse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV

Jack tosses me my colored pens, the packet landing on my homework. I jump slightly, cursing. I turn, glaring a little at him. He snorts, pulling up a seat next to me.

“What was that for?” I ask, moving the pens towards him again. He shrugs.

“We haven’t drawn in a while,” He says. “We kind of stopped doing it as often when we started dating. I just thought…”

I smile slightly. “Well,” I say, “I guess I could take a bit of a break.” He is right. We haven’t really done it in a while. Probably because we’ve just gotten busy and we’re around each other so much we just haven’t really seen the point.

Jack’s face lights up. I mirror his grin as I move my homework off to the side. I roll up my sleeves, taking a few of the colored pens. Jack takes some too, pouting a little because I took a color he wanted. I snort.

I think for a second before I start to draw. I start drawing on the back of my left hand while Jack starts drawing on his arm. I smile slightly as I see the lines forming on my arm. I forgot how much I loved watching it. I hum as I draw, still smiling to myself.

Jack decided on drawing the logo we decided on for the band. I decide to draw a blue rose. Jack laughs a little when he notices. I stop, glancing over at him. He smiles at me, and I swear I see his eyes get a tiny bit misty. I know if I ask, though, he’ll deny it.

I continue my drawing, shaking my head. Jack moves on to smaller doodles, things like stars and snowflakes and hearts. Sometimes he adds a smiley face or music notes. I even notice a little uneven treble clef. I smile fondly.

After the rose, I decide to draw some vines going around my wrist. As I’m drawing, Jack comments, “You’re making me feel like a shit artist over here. I’m just drawing smiley faces while you’re doing all this artistic bullshit.”

I laugh. “I could do random doodles,” I reply, “I just didn’t feel like it.”

“Showoff,” He mumbles under his breath. I laugh again.

On the side of my wrist I can’t draw on very well, I tap Jack’s arm. When he stops drawing, I move to his other side and draw on the section of wrist I couldn’t draw on myself. Jack snickers, though he doesn’t try to fight it.

Then I move back to where I was, starting a new design. I decide to start drawing a sunflower. Jack grumbles a little that I got in his way, but doesn’t try to cover up my drawing. I appreciate that. He knows how much I love my art. Even if it isn’t my best, and it will only be seen by him, I’d still get upset if he scribbled all over it.

While I’m shading in the sunflower, I idly comment, “We should do this more often. It’s relaxing.”

I take a quick glance at Jack and catch a small smile on his face. “Yeah,” He agrees quietly. “We should.”

Something flutters in my chest. Something about being here, alone, drawing with my boyfriend makes me feel… Makes me feel like I’m home. I feel at home. Even if the drawings are lopsided and I can hear the traffic outside, something about it just feels right.

 

It feels like home.

 

I barely notice how much my smile has grown until Jack teases lightly, “Your drawings always make you so happy.”

I finish up, glancing at him. I chuckle. “So do you.”

He chooses to not tease me for the cheesy remark, instead giving me a quick peck on the lips and a small laugh. To make him feel a little better, I start doing little designs with him, sometimes making tiny comments next to his stuff. Sometimes I just add an outline in a different color on things he’s drawn, which makes him laugh a little.

I don’t know when we end up on the floor, drawing on each other’s shoulders. It was mostly because we’re right handed and we can’t draw up on our shoulders normally. After the shoulder we’re going to draw on each other’s right arms, I assume. I honestly don’t care if my pens run out at this point. We’ll draw until there’s no ink left if we have to. I was going to get new ones anyway.

Though I’m not as good at them, I draw a fairy on Jack’s shoulder. Catching on, he adds little sparkles next to my outline, making me chuckle. He isn’t even really drawing all that much anymore. He’s mostly just writing things like song lyrics or cheesy little comments I don’t have the energy to tease him for.

We stay like this, cross-legged on the floor, for probably a few hours. Soon our arms are practically filled with comments and drawings. Not wanting to stop, we draw on each other’s necks, which is a strange experience.

Then, though there’s a bit of hesitation, we decide on taking our shirts off, drawing on each other’s torsos. I occasionally bring up that I should probably get back to doing my homework, but neither of us stops what we’re doing. We take small breaks when our hands are cramping up, and at one point I get up and get us drinks. Something about this is… therapeutic, in a way.

Absently, I start drawing old concepts on him. Some he’s seen before, judging by the grin I get when he notices them. Some of them, though, I never showed him. Whether it be because I just didn’t feel like drawing them on my arm, or because I just didn’t happen to show the ones in my sketchpad or my laptop. They all start to blend together into a strange mess, but Jack still compliments it.

We eventually get to a point where only one of us can draw at a time. We decide to take turns. I take the first turn with drawing on Jack’s back, while he looks at his phone. Though it’s a little overdone, I decide to draw angel wings on him. I think they’d suit him, despite the fact that he’s anything but an angel in most ways.

He hums a little as I set to work. We make a bit of small talk, just to fill a bit of the silence. Jack even starts tossing lyric ideas back and forth with me, even if some of them are just jokes. I start to wish I had my paints with me. I love using pens, but it’s rare I get to use my paints on anyone. I’ll put the idea past Jack sometime.

Though it takes a while, I eventually finish. I add a few other things before letting Jack know we can switch spots. Now I’m the one on my phone while Jack settles down behind me. He laughs a little, tracing his fingers along my back. “They look beautiful,” He murmurs. I smile at the praise, muttering a small thank you.

Jack takes a certain pleasure to drawing on my lower back. I have to lie on my stomach for him to do it, since it’s just too awkward to do when I’m sitting. I don’t entirely mind. It just feels a little strange.

Jack laughs a little, commenting, “I’m trying to be artistic, so sorry if it ends up looking like a tattoo fail.”

I laugh. “You really need to have more faith in your ability,” I reply. He hums slightly.

Once we’re both finally finished, I take a look at Jack’s back. I smile, tracing my fingers over some of the designs. We take each other in, almost covered in artwork. It almost looks silly; there’s no organization at all. It’s all sporadic, but it fits somehow.

“Can I take pictures?” I ask. I smile a little. “I’d like to look at them again sometime.”

Jack nods. “I was going to ask the same thing.”

After we’ve taken the photos of each other, I clean up my pens. Reluctantly, I set back to work on my homework, smiling every time I look at my arms. There is a bit of silence before Jack lightly kisses the back of my head.

“I love you,” He says quietly.

I smile, my heart fluttering. “I love you, too.”

I glance at him as he leaves the room, and I smile at how colorful he looks. He looks like a work of art. An art wall, I guess. It makes him even prettier.

 

I’m glad it ended up like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not an ending chapter, though it kind of flows like one. I'd give this one or two more chapters before the end, most likely. Maybe I'll do a sequel later on, idk. We'll see. Can't believe it's almost over. I like this concept a lot, though I'm not sure I did it justice


	19. Double Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's POV (so much talk of food lmao sorry)

“This is the most low-maintenance double date I’ve ever been on, and I can’t be happier.”

Rian throws a piece of breadstick at his boyfriend, rolling his eyes. “These are the best kinds of dates,” He replies. “Sure, fancy ones are great, and don’t get me wrong, being spoiled is fun. But honestly this doesn’t make me feel like my bank account is in the gutter and besides, going out for pizza is always a good idea.”

I laugh, taking another slice. “It’s better than heading to a bar every so often just for the hell of it,” I add. Alex gives me a small shove, but he’s smiling.

“I still kinda think that ice cream dates are better than this,” Alex says. I put a hand on his shoulder.

“I have a better idea.” He raises an eyebrow. “Pizza first, then ice cream, then just fucking around wherever.”

Alex and Rian hum in agreement. Alex nearly drops his slice of pizza and I laugh. He glares at me, but there’s no heat behind it, so I just laugh again. Rian snickers a little too.

“Ok, but guys,” Zack says, “a concept: breakfast dates.”

I snort. “Zack you go running at 5AM,” I point out. He rolls his eyes.

“Not _every_ day,” He replies. “just every other day. And besides, I can just move when I take my run.” I roll my eyes, laughing a little.

“You mean like going to IHOP or something and just getting pancakes at 9AM?” Alex asks. Zack nods.

“Bonus if you go in your pajamas or comfy clothing,” He says, taking another breadstick. “It’s actually not that bad. Rian and I went last week. We were tired as hell, but it was worth it.”

Rian laughs a little, sipping his drink. “I’d definitely say afternoon and evening dates are easier just because some people don’t want to leave the house before noon if they don’t have to,” He says. “However, breakfast dates are pretty nice.”

Something seems to dawn on Alex. “Have you guys had candy bacon before?” He asks. I furrow my eyebrows.

“What the fuck is candy bacon?”

Recognition flickers on Rian’s face. “Oh yeah!” He says. “We had them at Bob Evan’s that one time. They’re really good.”

Alex nods in agreement. “It’s basically bacon with like some sort of syrup, I think brown sugar, and some other stuff,” He says. “It’s super sticky though. It’s worth it though. It’s really sweet.”

Rian snorts. “You can feel yourself get fat the minute you take a bite, though,” He points out.

Alex laughs. “That’s how you know it tastes good.”

Zack seems interested, but slightly annoyed at Alex’s comment. I roll my eyes a little, chuckling. We all work out, but Zack takes it the most seriously out of all of us. I know he doesn’t really mind though. He’d try it anyway. He’d just push himself harder to make up for it.

Changing the subject a little, Zack says, “I like their garlic bread. Bob Evan’s I mean.”

I nod. “Their food is good,” I agree.

I take another slice of pizza, nearly dropping it. Alex snorts and I glare at him like he glared at me. He jokingly glares back in return. I laugh a little, rolling my eyes.

After a moment, I ask, “Ok, so I want to know what you guys think. Which date takes more work: fancy date, or amusement park date.”

“Amusement park,” Alex replies. “If it’s something like Six Flags or something, you have to make sure you get parked, and that’s usually so far away from the actual park. Then you have to get a ticket or make sure you have one anyway. Then it’s just riding rides, walking around mindlessly, and eating food that is probably terrible for your health.”

I nod, humming. “I can see your point,” I say. “So you say it’s more work because of the exercise and the planning?” Alex nods.

“I can see what you mean,” Rian says, “but I’d say fancy dates are more work because you have to dress nicer, which, depending on who you are, may take a while. You have to make sure everything is planned correctly and you practically have to triple check to make sure you have a reservation. Then everything is expensive as hell too. You have to make sure you have the money or things get awkward really fast.”

I nod again. “Fair point.”

Zack shrugs. “Both seem like a lot of work,” He says. “Maybe in different ways, but both are just a ton of work. The payoff is great, but it’s kind of more of an occasional date thing most of the time.”

“I agree with Zack,” I say. “I was just curious to see what you guys would say.” I laugh a little, turning to Alex. “Which would you prefer?”

Alex laughs. “Amusement park, definitely,” He replies. “Fancy food is great, but overpriced as hell, and besides, amusement parks are so much more fun than stuck up restaurants.”

“I’m assuming I should still take you to a fancier restaurant on our anniversary?” I guess. He laughs, nodding.

“It’s fine if you can’t but I’ll appreciate the gesture.” I snort.

“Fair enough.”

“You should take him to an art museum,” Rian suggests, trying to nick a breadstick from his boyfriend. “He either rambles about the history behind the art or he just points at random stuff and makes stupid comments; there is no in between.”

Alex blushes, scowling slightly. He can’t keep it up for long. A smile tugs at his lips. I laugh, putting an arm around him.

“Sounds fun,” I reply. “Maybe we should do that sometime.”

Alex doesn’t say anything, but he smiles. Then he turns, kissing me lightly on the cheek. I grin, blushing a little myself.

Conversation stops for a little while, so we mostly just eat in silence. Occasionally we’ll talk to our roommates with questions or talk to our boyfriends absently. Rian is even on his phone for most of the silence. That is, until Zack starts poking his cheek with one of the last breadsticks.

Once we’re done with dinner, Zack persuades us to go on a short walk. He promises it’ll be short, but I don’t fully trust him. He’s like the parent that convinces their kids to go to the park, but then they end up walking a ton instead of getting to do fun stuff like play on the playground. Sometimes that’s what we need, though.

Besides, I do kind of like walks. I don’t necessarily like the walking part, but there’s a vibe to it that just makes me really relaxed. It’s kind of a cliché date, but it’s not that bad of an idea. It’s pretty enjoyable, for the most part.

Alex puts his arm around me as we walk. I rest my head on his, smiling a little. There’s a bit of a silence between us while Rian and Zack chat ahead of us.

After a few moments, Alex quietly asks, “You know what would be nice?” I hum.

I can hear the smile in his voice. “When we get the money,” He says, “I want to go traveling. Just see the sights and take stupid pictures and just see everything.”

I grin. “That does sound fun,” I agree. I shrug. “Maybe when the band gets bigger, we can tour in other countries.”

Alex chuckles. “Wouldn’t that be fun,” He comments.

I grin. “Maybe we’ll get there someday.”

Alex grins. “Maybe.”

 

“Maybe we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this story is coming to an end! Hopefully I can put the last chapter up soon, but tomorrow is going to be a bit busy. I really like this story. I may play around with the concept again another time. I really hope you've enjoyed it and thank you to everyone who's left such nice feedback. I really appreciate it. xx


	20. Where We Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's POV

It doesn’t really hit me until we leave the meeting.

 

Then I start crying in the backseat of the van taking us to the venue. The sudden rush of emotions takes me a bit by surprise, a stray sob escaping my lips. Still, I manage a weak laugh in between my tears. My bandmates turn to me, startled. Jack instinctively puts an arm around me, his face etched with worry. I shake my head smiling a little.

“Happy tears guys,” I manage, sniffling. “Happy tears.” I laugh, my heart full. “I just fully realized what they were saying.”

Jack furrows his eyebrows but Rian breaks into a smile. “You mentioned that,” He says. “The day you were offered to do the album cover for an up-and-coming local band. You said you wished that the art you were making was for your album and your music.”

Jack starts smile too, beaming. I wipe away some of my tears, but I’m still just kind of overwhelmed by it. This art is _mine._ It’s for _my_ music, _my_ band, and something I am deeply proud of. It isn’t a commission or an assignment or something I just drew for practice.

 

It means the world to me.

 

“I already have so many ideas,” I say. “I’m going to have to make sense of them and start sketching them out, but I’m so excited.” I laugh again. “This art is _mine._ ”

Jack kisses my cheek, chuckling. “I’m proud of you,” He says, a bit more softly than I expected. It was more for me to hear than anyone else. I smile.

Just as we’re nearing the venue, Jack asks, “Oh yeah, are we still getting tattoos tomorrow?”

 

I’m on the verge of crying again dammit.

 

I nod, grinning. “Getting tattoos of our own handwriting.” I chuckle. “And then maybe some.”

Rian snorts. “That’s so cheesy,” He teases.

Zack shrugs. “Sounds like something we could do,” He replies, sending a teasing look to Rian. Rian rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling.

As we’re stopping, I happen to glance over at Jack. His eyes are misty, but he’s smiling, so I’m assuming they’re happy tears. I give him a small nudge to get his attention.

When he looks over at me, I quietly ask, “What are the happy tears for?”

Jack laughs quietly, stepping out of the van. “I went from playing on street corners for money two and a half years ago to playing bigger venues where people know us by name.” He laughs a little, trying not to cry. “It just means a lot.”

I grin. “You know what we should do today?” I ask. He shakes his head. I laugh. “We should play a cover of All The Small Things.”

Jack laughs, throwing his head back. “I can’t believe you remember that,” He says. “That’s how we first met.”

“It’s kind of important to remember,” I tease a little. “Like you said, it was how we first met.”

He rolls his eyes, giving me a small shove. I laugh. After a moment, I say, “We really should though. I think it would be nice. I’ve always liked that song.”

Jack nods. “That would be nice,” He agrees.

We don’t talk much as we’re setting up. We make sure our guitars are tuned, and Rian sets up his drum kit. People come over to help him, but I can tell he’s slightly annoyed by the gesture. He likes doing things a certain way. Other people don’t know that certain way.

Then we’re going through sound check, fucking around and trying to make sure all of the mics work. A few people have shown up to the venue already. They wave excitedly to us, and we grin, waving back. Next we check lights and the screens, making sure they’re working properly.

I get a good look at the venue, with the lights still up. It’s much bigger than we’ve usually played. It’s not a stadium or anything, but it’s a good sized venue. The fact that the show is sold out makes it even more impressive. All these seats will have people in them.

 

They’re here to see us perform.

 

It’s hard not to get emotional, really. Maybe we’re not household names. Maybe we’re not the most famous, or the richest. But being here, the kid who was terrified to show his music to anyone, and singing songs I wrote and shared, just means so much to me. And the fact that I’m here with my best friends and my boyfriend makes it even better.

 

This is all I’ve ever really wanted.

 

I don’t even realize sound check is over until Jack lightly tugs on my arm. “Come on, Lex,” He says, laughing quietly. “We’re going to get some food before the show. There’s a pizza place right across the street.”

I laugh, taking my guitar off. He takes my hand in his, squeezing gently. I squeeze back, smiling. I peck his cheek.

“Today is just going to be a really cheesy day, huh,” I say as we walk. Jack laughs.

“Probably,” He says. “I mean, so many huge things happened today. It’s really starting to hit us how far we’ve gotten.”

I nod. “That doesn’t make it feel any less foreign,” I comment. “I’m not used to getting this emotional about… well just about everything.”

Jack laughs. “I think we’ve earned it,” He replies. “We worked our asses off for this. And, come on. This stuff is a big deal. This is our biggest venue so far. You get to design your own album artwork like you’ve always wanted. It’s a huge deal.”

My eyes water and I give him a small shove. “You’re going to make me cry again,” I scold, though my heart isn’t really in it. I’m too happy.

I blink away my tears, resting my head on Jack’s shoulder. He hums, leaning his head against mine. We meet Rian and Zack at the pizza place, and they’ve already ordered for us. We know each other’s orders by now. We do this a lot.

While we’re eating, Rian says, “Oh yeah, apparently Lisa is supposed to be here tonight.” I nearly choke on my drink.

“Seriously?” I ask. I check my phone. “You think she could have warned me.”

Jack gives me a wry smile. “I bet it’ll be amusing for me to meet her,” He comments. I roll my eyes, laughing.

“Oh hush, you’ve wanted to meet her ever since you learned about her,” I tease. He laughs.

“Do you think she wants to meet me?” He asks. I shrug.

“Sure,” I reply. “Why not?”

“Did she bring her boyfriend?” Zack asks. Rian nods.

“It’ll be our first time meeting him in person,” He replies. I laugh.

“That’s gonna be a fun reunion.”

All too soon, we’re getting ready to get on stage. My heart is pounding in my chest and I can’t stop grinning. I look over at my bandmates, seeing that they’re just as giddy as I am.

On cue, we run on stage, and everyone starts screaming. I can’t see everyone, with the lights so dim on the crowd, but I can vaguely tell how many people are out there. Everyone is trying to get as close as they can to us, thrilled to see us. My heart swells.

I go up to the mic, fighting back more tears. I smile brightly, taking a shuddery breath.

 

“We are All Time Low, and as a tribute to how we met the other half of the band, here’s our cover of All The Small Things by blink-182.”

 

This is where I’m meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I may edit this chapter a bit, this is the end! I really hope you guys enjoyed this. I tried to wrap things up the best I could. I've enjoyed writing this story so much, and your positive feedback means the world to me. Hopefully the conclusion wraps things up nicely, and I hope I did the prompt justice.
> 
> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed xx


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